Starting with the goblin extermination

The night wind carried the smoke from the logging camp, which stung Logan's face, and he felt a sense of oppression.

Professional.

He had anticipated this situation.

So before setting off, he stopped at the herbal medicine shop for a while, where he spent all his money.

Adele placed the bottles of medicine on the counter one by one, and only spoke seriously after he paid.

"Your little wildcat bought a lot of things too." She placed her hand on Logan's face. "...You must come back alive."

Logan did not respond.

The bald man in front of him took an arrow from his quiver.

"Your combat technique is strange. Is it a warrior's [Swiftness]? No, [Swiftness] couldn't possibly have that speed..." The man drew his bow and nocked an arrow, his eyes mocking. "Did you drink a potion? No, that doesn't seem right either..."

"you guess."

The bald man's lips twitched slightly, finding it somewhat amusing.

"Okay, then I'll guess how long you can last."

boom!

Logan slid to the side to dodge, and at the same time, the bald man loosened his grip.

Whoosh!

The arrow, glowing with a faint green light, flew past Logan's waist, the ring armor screeching as it was torn open with a shallow gash.

It was just a minor scratch, but Logan's heart sank.

The bald man's lips curled up in a smile.

"Three minutes."

It is the Hunter's Mark.

The Ranger's prerequisite combat skill allows them to mark damaged prey, enhancing their perception of the marked target and increasing the damage dealt to it. Furthermore, the marked prey is unable to hide for a certain period of time.

I've been tagged.

So what?

Logan suddenly looked up, and a burst of red light erupted beneath his feet.

[Wolf Attack]!

The soil crumbled beneath his feet, and Logan vanished from his spot in an instant, closing in on the bald man in a flash—

A green light flashed beneath the bald man's feet as he used the same trick again, sending him flying dozens of meters backward. In mid-air, his hands created terrifying afterimages on the bowstring!

[Rapid Fire]!

Three arrows shot into the air simultaneously, whistling sharply. Two blocked Logan's front, while the third, surprisingly, traced a strange arc in the air, aiming straight for Logan's back.

Damn.

Logan twisted his body forcefully, narrowly avoiding the two arrows aimed at him, but the curved arrow still reached him.

In the nick of time, Logan had no time to think. He gripped his sword with both hands and instinctively swung it upwards.

when!

The arrow was forcibly deflected, grazing his right shoulder, and the immense impact caused Logan to stagger half a step.

Perhaps on the brink of life and death, the parrying skills that Logan had recently learned from Soppena came in handy.

The bald man frowned slightly, landed, retreated again, drew his bow, and repeated this deadly rhythm.

For a ranger, maintaining distance and wearing down the opponent from afar is the most classic strategy.

But for Luo Gen, the situation is extremely unfavorable.

He couldn't even catch up with the bald man.

That strange retreating footwork technique was no slower than his own [Wolf Strike]. Logan hadn't seen it in the guild's "Complete Guide to Combat Techniques".

The answer is obvious.

This isn't a prerequisite skill; it can only be awakened after taking up the job.

[Professional Combat Skills]

[Wolf Attack]'s straight-line advance was already very fast, and even with the swiftness potion he drank before the battle, he could only keep pace with him. Meanwhile, the bald man could fire a shot every time he retreated, making it difficult for Logan to close the distance.

Is this what a professional is like?!

Logan dodged the incoming arrows and gave chase again, but this time the bald man did not retreat.

The boulder behind him blocked his position, so he had to move to the side and use the boulder as cover to fire in bursts.

Logan immediately unleashed [Wolf Strike] and swiftly slid to the side, relentlessly chasing after the bald man's footsteps.

After bypassing the boulder, the bald man used his combat skills again to create distance.

This is it!

Logan watched the bald man's face recede into the distance.

This combat skill is indeed powerful, capable of instantly creating distance from the enemy, making it undoubtedly a very suitable skill for rangers to engage in close combat.

However, it also has a drawback.

Before each use of his combat technique, the bald man would instinctively turn his back to glance at the target to determine where the technique would land before turning back to face himself and firing.

This means that combat skills must be released with one's back to the direction of movement, and there must be no obstacles at the landing point.

This is also why the bald man didn't unleash his combat skills when he first encountered the boulder.

Logan suddenly stopped the pursuit.

He stood still, his longsword hanging at his side.

The bald man didn't shoot immediately; he stared at Logan, his brow furrowed.

An unemployed kid couldn't possibly keep up with his own [backflip shot].

He's giving up.

"What, planning to surrender?" He drew the bowstring taut, the arrow aimed at Logan. "That's too boring. I finally managed to get a little interested."

Logan didn't respond.

The bald man sneered as he fired the first arrow, which was neither too heavy nor too light.

Logan raised his left arm, the arrow piercing his forearm. Although it was held in place by the ring armor, the pain still instantly traveled from his elbow to his shoulder. He roughly pulled the arrow out.

He dodged the second arrow to the side, and it flew past him, grazing his shoulder.

With his third arrow, he narrowly deflected the feathered arrow, and subconsciously rubbed the [Abyss Thorn Ring] on his hand.

boring.

The balding man became impatient.

"Playing tricks." This kid isn't even as good at causing trouble as that wanderer before him; he's really boring.

He turned around, glancing back to confirm his landing spot, preparing to create distance again and return to his most familiar rhythm.

He wouldn't hold back anymore; he was going to shoot the kid into a pincushion, arrow by arrow.

Then kill that wanderer too; he's had his fun.

This is the moment when he turned his back to Logan.

Right now.

[Wolf Attack]!

A burst of red light erupted, and Logan's figure vanished from his spot in an instant, reappearing directly behind the bald man the next moment.

The speed was so fast that the bald man didn't even have time to react!

His instincts as a ranger made him want to immediately activate [Backflip Shot] to escape, but he realized with horror that the enemy was right behind him!

His combat skills were rendered useless. His underestimation of the enemy cost him dearly at this moment.

[Thrust]!

The longsword transformed into a streak of light, ruthlessly slicing in from behind.

The bald man didn't have time to turn around completely; he could only twist half his body with all his might, using the fastest speed he'd ever seen to hold the short knife horizontally to his side and block the sword.

The longsword was forcibly parried by an inch, preventing it from piercing his back. However, the deflected blade still grazed the short sword, passing through his right rib and drawing out a large patch of dark red blood.

Damn!

"Three minutes." This time it was Logan's turn to speak.

The two faced each other, so close that they could see each other's pupils.

The bald man gritted his teeth and gripped his twin blades tightly, while Logan held his longsword firmly. Before they could break free, a close-quarters battle erupted instantly.

boom!boom!boom!boom!

The metal clashed, putting the bald man at a disadvantage. Although Logan was slashed across the left waist by the dagger, the longsword pierced the man's ribs again, forcing him to retreat continuously.

Damn it! I'm no match for this kid in close combat.

We need to keep our distance!

The bald man's heel glowed green again; even if he were to take another sword strike, he would retreat without hesitation.

But at such close range, Logan had already raised his left hand.