As an Archer, Ash held the ultimate trump card in the cramped corridors of a dungeon: distance.
It took twenty grueling minutes to clear the final two waves of mobs. Several times, the front line buckled, nearly leading to a total party wipe. The bottleneck was clear—their DPS was simply too low. If they could double their damage output, these runs would be a breeze rather than a desperate struggle for survival.
Checking the damage meters, Ash let out a slow breath of relief. He wasn't at the bottom; two others trailed behind him. For his level, sitting in the middle of the pack was more than respectable—it was an achievement that kept the critics silent. Upgrading his gear at the last second had been the right call; otherwise, he’d be the one dragging the team down.
Once the last trash mob fell, the party collapsed in place to recover.
"The hardest part of this run is surviving the waves," one of them panted, leaning against a jagged rock. "Once the mobs are gone, the boss is a pushover."
They moved through the canyon, coming face-to-face with the Necromancer. The skeletal mage looked pathetic; the ten waves of Phantoms it had summoned had bled its mana pool dry. A mage without mana was just a target in a fancy robe.
Ash didn't wait for a signal. From maximum range, he began raining arrows. The rest of the party surged forward, closing the distance to finish the job.
[Notification: Deathmage Slain. Guild Contribution Points +8]
[Experience +4,000 | Silver +40]
[Loot Dropped: Necromancer’s Staff (No Distribution Rights)]
[Loot Dropped: Undying Sacred Flame (No Distribution Rights)]
The party erupted in cheers. A weapon was one thing, but a specialized material was a massive find.
"Jackpot!" someone shouted. "That staff is worth a hundred gold easy, but that Iron-Tier Undying Sacred Flame? That’ll fetch over two thousand on the Exchange."
Ash watched as the loot was processed. Even a standard Flame went for a thousand gold; an Iron-Tier variant doubling that price was standard market rate. He couldn't afford it yet, but the run had been incredibly lucky.
"They weren't kidding," a teammate laughed, clapping Ash on the shoulder. "Bringing a 'newbie' really does trigger better loot tables."
Ash rolled his eyes but didn't argue. He wasn't exactly a carry, but if they wanted to credit his 'newbie luck' for the 203 gold he just pocketed as his share, he’d take it.
The moment he was back in the city, Ash accessed the Exchange. He needed more power. He shelled out for a Common Class Skill Tome.
[Common Class Skill Tome: Randomly Awakening or Strengthening a Skill. Remaining Uses: 10]
[Notification: Multishot +1]
"That’s it?" Ash muttered, staring at the notification.
He had hoped for a total Skill Awakening, but a raw level-up for Multishot wasn't useless. It meant more arrows, more coverage, and faster clear times. It wasn't the flashy Flame or Frost Arrow upgrade he’d dreamed of, but efficiency was its own reward.
Leveling was becoming a mountain he had to climb inch by inch. He finally understood why it took most humans centuries to reach Level 100. Even with the rich experience from a Level 4 dungeon, it would take twenty full runs just to gain a single level. At two hours per run, that was three days of non-stop, perfect grinding for one level.
Stability was key. Ash stayed with the squad, settling into a grueling rhythm. They ran five dungeons a day—ten hours of intense combat—and Ash spent his "off-time" pugging with other groups for another two or three runs. He wasn't just working hard; he was obsessed.
Four days later, he hit Level 31. The "newbie luck" had vanished, leaving him with a steady income of two or three gold per run. It was a grind, but a profitable one.
He poured his earnings back into his character. He bought every permanent stat-boosting herb and snack he could find, slowly layering on attributes. When combined with the occasional proc from his One in a Million talent, his daily damage output began to creep upward.
By the end of the week, Ash had clawed his way to third place in the party's DPS rankings.
He didn't neglect his summon, either. He spent several gold on an Iron-Tier longsword for Chitin, finally giving the skeleton enough bite to handle a Level 30 mob on its own.
By the time ten more days passed and he reached Level 32, Ash knew every inch of the Level 4 runs. He was no longer a guest; he was an asset.
He spent his rare breaks browsing the Forums, keeping an eye on the world. The news was a mix of triumph and terror. Another Azure Prime city had fallen to the monsters, but Southhaven had just birthed a dozen new Level 100 powerhouses. Evan Valor—the man at the top—had officially cracked the Top 10 of the Plane rankings.
But the gap between the elite and the rest was staggering. Ash saw a post about an A-Rank Archer at Level 32 who boasted a physical attack of over 9,000—triple Ash’s own. In Southhaven, 'prodigies' a year younger than him were already hitting Level 50.
Then there were the guilds. Starfall had found a Silver-Tier Skill Tome. Blazing Vanguard was mass-producing Spirit Brew. Meanwhile, the Stellar Pact—the governing body of the Awakened—was posting bounties on "Player Killers." Ash stared at the list of thousands of names, baffled. Why kill your own kind when there was no loot or XP in it?
One niche headline caught his eye: [Artificers' Guild Develops Arcane Grenade: Science Meets Mana.]
It was a fusion of old-world gunpowder tech and high-density mana. Ash looked them up on the Exchange. They were cheap—20 copper a pop.
"Instructions: Inject mana into the shell. Maximum capacity: 10,000 MP."
Ash checked his own stats. As an Archer, his mana pool of 21,635 was essentially a decorative bar. He had no spells to spend it on.
He bought ten grenades as a test and funneled half his mana into one.
[Arcane Grenade (Completed): Artificers' Guild Masterpiece. Damage: 800. Radius: 5 meters.]
"Eight hundred damage for ten thousand mana?" Ash scoffed. A mage using that much mana could probably level a building. It was terribly inefficient for a caster, but for him? It was free real estate. His mana regenerated in an hour. He could "craft" two grenades an hour for the cost of zero gold.
"If I give a bundle of these to my skeletons and have them charge a mob..." A grin spread across his face. It was a niche tactic, but in a world this dangerous, you didn't throw away a weapon just because it was 'inefficient.'
Over the next three months, the grind became his life. He hit Level 36. He was now a core member of the squad, but the party was finally outgrowing the standard Level 4 runs. Vivian Cross and the others were moving on to Hard Mode, leaving Ash behind.
"Second in DPS and the party breaks up," Ash grumbled. "Story of my life."
Still, the three months had been kind to his wallet. Between loot splits and his own savings, he had amassed 1,209 gold. He stood at a crossroads: buy six more Skill Tomes and gamble on RNG, or buy a single Undying Sacred Flame for Chitin.
"A thousand gold for one flame," he whispered, his finger hovering over the buy button. "Don't let me down, Chitin."
He pulled the trigger. The white flame materialized in his hands, and he pressed it into the skeleton’s ribcage.
[Notification: Phantom Summon Evolved to Iron-Tier.]
[Undying Skeleton: HP +3,000 | ATK +100 | DEF +40]
[Sub-summons now inherit 20% of Chitin’s attributes.]
[Chitin (Iron-Tier) - Level 36]
[HP: 6,600 | ATK: 421 | DEF: 120]
Ash looked at his own updated stats.
[Ash Valor - Level 36]
[Total Attributes: 3,001 | HP: 8,100 | ATK: 3,857 | Range: 50m | Attack Speed: 0.4]
With 200 gold left, he bought one more Skill Tome. This time, the heavens answered.
[Notification: Skill Awakened — Armorpiercer]
[Armorpiercer (Passive): Every attack ignores a portion of defense. Total Damage +10%]
"Now that is a skill," Ash cheered. A flat 10% damage boost was exactly what he needed to stay relevant.
He began looking for a new squad, but the Guild Channel suddenly exploded with a flurry of red-text announcements that froze the entire city.
[Skystrider Guild has consumed 1,000,000 Contribution Points to establish Level 1 Territory: Skystrider Village (316, 425).]
[Skystrider Guild has established Level 1 Settlement: Rampart.]
[Skystrider Guild has constructed 4x Level 1 Defense Towers.]
"A Guild Territory?" Ash gasped.
Establishing a base twenty miles outside Southhaven’s walls was a suicide mission. That area was crawling with high-level monsters. Without a Level 100 powerhouse to anchor the defense, a village wouldn't last a night.
The notifications didn't stop.
[MANDATORY CITY DEFENSE SIEGE: All members Level 30+ report to Guild Grounds immediately!]
[Reward: 100 Gold.]
[Defense is vital. A Territory serves all. Move out!]
Ash didn't hesitate. A hundred gold just for showing up? He cancelled his dungeon plans and sprinted for the North Gate.
The journey was a spectacle. Over ten thousand guild members were being escorted in waves. Orion, the monstrous Berserker he’d seen before, led Ash’s group. The man was a whirlwind of steel, carving a path through the Level 30 mobs like he was mowing grass.
"Stay tight!" Orion roared over the sound of clashing blades. "Once we hit the village, do not leave the walls. The siege will last weeks, maybe years. If we hold for a month, the Rift Gate to Southhaven goes live and we’re safe. Use the towers! Use the ramparts! Everything has been prepared!"
When they reached the settlement, Ash’s jaw dropped. It was a modest hundred-acre village enclosed by a stone rampart, but the air hummed with power.
[Notification: Entered Guild Territory. HP +1,000 | ATK +200 | DEF +100]
[Wellspring of Vitality Active: +10 HP/sec]
[Wellspring of Arcana Active: +10 MP/sec]
With the territory buffs and the overlapping auras from thousands of players, Ash felt like a god. His attack power spiked to 9,000; his health bar surged past five figures.
He quickly messaged his old squad. Victor, you here?
North Rampart! Victor replied instantly. Hurry! They’re coming over the walls!
Ash scrambled up the stone steps. The scene atop the rampart was chaos. Thousands of monsters were surging against the stone, a tide of claws and teeth.
"How the hell are we supposed to hold this?" Ash muttered, but he didn't wait for an answer. He drew his bow.
Thrum.
Thrum-thrum.
[-8,613!]
[-9,126!]
Level 30 trash mobs died in a single hit. He found Victor’s squad holding a desperate stretch of the wall. They were flagging, their three tanks struggling to hold back a trio of Level 42 Netherserpents—massive, obsidian-scaled snakes with 76,000 HP each.
"Chitin, front and center!" Ash commanded.
The Iron-Tier skeleton stepped up, its new sword gleaming. Behind the safety of the tanks, Chitin began to dish out steady, punishing damage.
"Captain! You're here!" Victor yelled, narrowly dodging a serpent's strike. "Wait—what happened to your skeleton? It’s huge!"
"Focus on the snakes, Victor! Watch your six!" Ash shouted back.
He unleashed Quintuple Arrow. Five shafts whistled through the air, each trailing the silver light of Armorpiercer.
[-9,268!]
[Experience +160 (+40)]
The squad stared. In the months they’d been apart, the gap between them hadn't closed—it had widened into a chasm. Ash was a one-man firing battery.
"Keep the heals on Chitin!" Ash ordered. "He’s not going down."
The experience was pouring in. Every kill on the ramparts provided more XP than a dungeon mob, and the sheer volume was staggering. His Guild Contribution points were ticking up like a frantic clock.
Mid-battle, Ash didn't stop. He used his 100-gold reward to buy 100 Undying Crystal Cores from the Exchange and began feeding them to Chitin right there on the wall.
[HP +100 | DEF +20]
[HP +80 | DEF +10]
He fed the skeleton ninety cores before the diminishing returns hit zero.
[Chitin (Iron-Tier) - Level 36]
[HP: 9,800 | ATK: 621 | DEF: 250]
With the territory buffs factored in, the skeleton had 13,000 HP. It stood like a grim sentinel amidst the chaos, a fortress of bone that refused to break. Ash stood behind it, an endless stream of arrows leaving his bow, his eyes fixed on the horizon as the true siege began.