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

Li Wu thought for a moment, then walked back to the wreckage of the Destroyer and examined it carefully. He wanted to see if there was anything useful on this huge creature.

Soon, he found a giant core inside the Destroyer's shattered chest cavity. It was several times larger than the energy core of an ordinary mining golem and was still faintly glowing red.

【Name: Broken Destroyer Core (Epic)】

[Type: Engineering Materials]

[Description: The energy core of the Mine Guardian, the Destroyer, though damaged, still contains immense power. Perhaps a highly skilled engineer can repair it.]

"Epic Core?"

Li Wu looked at the large object in his hand and a thought struck him.

He immediately took out the damaged blueprint for modifying the puppet core.

[System notification: The blueprint can be used on the core.]

"Can it be modified?"

Li Wu immediately became interested.

He wanted to see what a puppet created using an epic core would look like.

He immediately sat down cross-legged and concentrated all his mental energy on the giant core.

Having gained experience from modifying ordinary cores before, he was much more skilled at this operation.

However, the internal structure of the Epic Core is much more complex than that of a regular core.

The number of parts inside is more than ten times that of a regular core, and they are arranged in a much more precise manner.

Li Wu dared not be careless in the slightest and carefully began to rearrange the internal parts.

This process lasted for more than half an hour.

As the last component was put into its correct position, the entire core suddenly erupted with a dazzling blue light. An energy fluctuation several times stronger than before emanated from the core.

[System notification: You have successfully modified the Destroyer Core. Your crafting skill, Basic Engineering, has been upgraded to Intermediate Engineering.]

Li Wu looked at the giant core that was slowly pulsating in his hand and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He stood up and pressed the modified core into the Destroyer's wreckage.

"Click".

With a loud bang, the core was perfectly embedded.

The next second, a miraculous scene unfolded. The Destroyer's remains, which had been completely destroyed, began to repair themselves at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The shattered armor and broken wiring were rapidly restored under the influence of a mysterious force.

In less than three minutes, a giant puppet, intact and five meters tall, reappeared in front of Li Wu.

Its single eye emitted a soft blue light, and the violent and destructive aura it once exuded was gone.

It walked up to Li Wu, knelt on one knee, and spoke in a mechanical voice devoid of any emotion.

"Master, Destroyer, I pledge my allegiance to you."

"..."

Li Wu stared at the huge guy kneeling on one knee in front of him, and for a moment he was not quite able to react.

This is no longer simply following instructions; this is... recognizing a master?

He tried opening the big guy's attribute panel.

【Name: Destroyer (Li Wu's Servant)】

[Level: LV30]

[HP: 25000/25000]

Physical Attack: 250

Physical Defense: 500

[Skills: Devastating Impact, Overwhelming Firepower, Core Overload]

Loyalty: 100 (Never betray)

"Holy crap..."

Looking at the attribute panel, Li Wu couldn't help but swear.

He had actually managed to recruit a level 30 elite boss as his underling? This was even more exciting than getting an epic item.

Having a strong tank and a damage dealer will greatly improve your safety when leveling up or fighting bosses.

Get up.

Li Wu suppressed his excitement and spoke to the Destroyer.

"Yes, Master."

The Destroyer stood up and stood quietly behind Li Wu.

Li Wu nodded in satisfaction, then pointed to the Star Iron Ore Vein and gave the order.

"Go, mine all the remaining ore."

"Yes, ma'am."

The Destroyer turned around, and its massive drill arm began to spin at high speed.

"Boom boom boom"

It started drilling the rock face directly with a drill bit.

That efficiency was several times faster than the previous eight puppets combined.

Large chunks of Star Iron fell from the rock wall.

Li Wu followed behind, happily picking up the loot.

Half an hour later, the entire Starry Iron Vein was completely mined.

More than three hundred pieces of Star Iron have appeared in Li Wu's backpack.

"We're rich! We're rich!"

Li Wu looked at the ore in his backpack and couldn't stop smiling.

He recalled the Destroyer into the servant space.

This is a built-in function after the character is captured.

Then, he determined the direction and walked deeper into the mine.

He was going to find the remaining fifty-seven magic crystals.

……

Passing through the gap in the rock wall smashed open by the Destroyer, the scene behind it caught Li Wu's eye.

This was no longer a dark and damp mine tunnel, but a fantastical underground crystal cave. The cave walls were covered with clusters of colorful crystals, their light illuminating the entire cave. The air was filled with rich magical elements; Li Wu took a deep breath and felt refreshed, even his mana regeneration speed seemed to have increased.

"A good place."

Li Wu sighed in admiration.

These places rich in elements are most likely to give birth to elemental creatures, and magic crystals are the crystallization of the energy in the bodies of elemental creatures after they die.

He was right.

As he entered the center of the crystal cave, several energy bodies composed of flames and lightning floated out from behind the crystal clusters.

[Soul of Flames, LV28, Elemental Creature.]

[Spirit of Lightning, LV28, Elemental Creature.]

These elemental creatures had no fixed form, merely flickering flames or flashing bolts of lightning. They seemed to sense Li Wu's intrusion and began to gather around him.

"Perfect, saves me the trouble of searching for them one by one."

Li Wu raised his bow.

Physical attacks are almost ineffective against these elemental creatures made of energy; only magic can harm them.

Facing the approaching Flame Soul, he fired a lightning arrow.

-1450! (Weakness Critical Hit)

A high damage number appeared above the Flame Soul's head, and the flame let out a mournful cry, instantly dimming considerably.

Li Wu used a different attack method against the lightning spirits.

[Explosive Burning Arrow]!

A compressed fireball flew out and exploded violently in the middle of the lightning spirit.

-1380! (Weakness Critical Hit)

-1410! (Weakness Critical Hit)

……

A burst of fire damage instantly engulfed the clusters of lightning. These elemental creatures were utterly powerless against Li Wu; in less than five minutes, he had wiped out the dozen or so elemental creatures in the cave.

[System notification: You have obtained 1 Magic Crystal.]

[System notification: You have obtained 1 Magic Crystal.]

After killing these elemental creatures, seven magic crystals were left on the ground, with an average of one crystal dropping for every two elemental creatures.

Li Wu stepped forward and picked them up.

Target progress (10/60).

"The efficiency is not bad."

Li Wu continued exploring deeper into the Crystal Cave.

The further you go, the higher the level and the more numerous the elemental creatures you encounter. From the initial fire and lightning to the later ice and rock, all kinds of elemental creatures appear one after another.

But no matter how many came, they posed no threat to Li Wu. He killed these elemental creatures one by one, and the number of magic crystals in his backpack steadily increased.

(12/60)

(20/60)

After he killed a level 29 Frost Giant in the deepest part of the Crystal Cave, he finally obtained the sixtieth magic crystal.

The second material needed for all six Starseeker Longbows has been collected.

Li Wu glanced at his level and realized he had reached halfway to level 27.

"This Crystal Cave is truly a treasure trove for leveling up."

He was still somewhat unsatisfied; if he didn't have a goal to achieve, he would have liked to grind here until level 30.

He picked up the materials dropped by the last elemental creature and walked to the end of the crystal cave. At the end was a smooth ice wall, radiating a biting cold.

"No way out?"

Li Wu frowned.

He tried tapping the ice wall with his bow, producing a dull thud. The ice wall was very thick, and breaking it with brute force was almost impossible.

Just as he was about to give up and return the way he came, he suddenly noticed a strange rune that seemed to be carved in the middle of the ice wall. The rune was composed of countless intricate lines and was an image of a bird with outstretched wings.

A thought struck Li Wu, and he reached out to touch the center of the rune. The next moment, the entire rune lit up.

Click... Click...

A crack appeared in the middle of the ice wall, and a gale-force wind mixed with ice and snow rushed in through the crack.

Li Wu squinted and braved the strong wind to step into the crevice.

Beyond the crevice lay a completely new world. It was no longer an underground cave, but the summit of a towering mountain, with a sheer cliff below and howling blizzards raging all around, making visibility extremely low.

"This should be the top of Black Wind Valley."

Li Wu immediately determined his location. According to the old blacksmith Horn, the owner of the Wind Feather, the Spirit of Gale, lived here.

Braving the wind and snow, he began his arduous trek up the mountaintop, searching for the Spirit of the Gale. The mountaintop was vast and its terrain complex, filled with steep cliffs and bottomless crevasses; a single misstep could result in a fatal fall. Li Wu proceeded with extreme caution with every step.

After walking for about ten minutes, he came to a relatively flat snowfield and saw huge tornadoes made of strong winds and snow.

Each tornado connects to heaven and earth, moving slowly, and a blurry human figure can be vaguely seen inside the tornado.