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

"It will take some time to forge these six bows."

Horn's eyes burned as he looked at the pile of materials on the workbench.

"The forging process of each Starseeker Longbow is very complicated and requires complete dedication. I estimate it will take at least six days to complete."

"Six days?"

Li Wu nodded; the time was faster than he had expected.

"No problem, I'm not in a hurry."

Six days is just enough time for him to reach level 30. It would be even better if he could complete his first job advancement!

"Alright, I'll accept these materials for now."

With a wave of his hand, Horn put all the materials on the workbench into the storage space.

He looked at Li Wu for a moment and then said, "What are your plans for the future? If you're free, you can stay here for a few days and observe the forging process. It might give you some inspiration."

This offer is indeed very tempting; being able to watch a legendary blacksmith forge weapons up close is a rare opportunity for any player.

You might even trigger some hidden quests, or learn one or two life skills.

But Li Wu shook his head and refused.

"Thank you, Master, but I have other tasks to complete."

He opened the task panel:

[Task Name: Reignite the Furnace Fire]

[Quest Description: Horn is heartbroken by his son's stubbornness. He decides to reforge the ring that carries his sorrow, giving it new life. But he needs your help to find materials that can temper his longing. Please go to the Searing Canyon to defeat the Lava Giants and obtain the Lava Core; go to Frostwhisper Glacier to mine the Frost Iron Ore guarded by frost elementals.]

This is the second link in his hidden quest chain.

I haven't had time to do this before because I've been busy upgrading and collecting materials.

Now that the matter of the Star Chaser Longbow is temporarily settled, it's time to complete this task.

After leaving the blacksmith shop, Li Wu did not leave the city immediately, but went to the auction house instead.

After grinding monsters for the past few days, he is now level 28, just one and a half experience points away from the level 30 first job advancement threshold. The Scorching Canyon and Frost Whisper Glacier are both maps around level 30, and the monster levels in them are just right.

He could easily level up while doing quests.

However, equipment is now a problem.

Of the equipment he's acquired in the past few days, only two are level 28 rare items that he can use.

The rest of his equipment consisted of his previous level 20 rare gear. Although the stats were good, they were becoming outdated as his level increased.

Especially when facing level 30 monsters, the defense and health seem insufficient.

He needs to upgrade his equipment.

Finally, there's the matter of establishing a guild.

His and Hua Zitong's goal is to establish a guild as soon as they reach level 30.

Although they already have the guild creation order, it still costs money to establish a guild.

Furthermore, after establishing a guild, recruiting members, setting up a guild headquarters, and managing daily operations all require money.

And it's a lot of money.

He had previously sold the Black Iron Warlord's Warhammer for forty-five gold coins, and with the equipment he sold from the Blood Wolf Guild, he had nearly one hundred gold coins in total!

It's a huge sum of money, but it's far from enough for the long-term development of a guild.

He needs to find a way to raise more money before establishing the guild.

Money, equipment, level...

After a moment's thought, Li Wu quickly came up with a plan.

He first opened the auction house interface. In his backpack, there were still a lot of equipment and materials dropped by the Blood Wolf Guild and monsters, as well as three hundred Star Iron. Instead of keeping them, he decided to sell them and exchange them for gold coins.

He spent over an hour listing all the things he didn't need for the auction house.

After doing all that, his backpack was much emptier, with only some potions, scrolls, and quest items remaining.

He then began browsing the equipment in the auction house, with a clear goal: at least a level 25 rare leather armor set.

The stats of this level of equipment are significantly higher than those of level 20 equipment, enough for him to use until level 30 and his first job advancement. Moreover, since all the major guilds are farming level 25 dungeons, there are quite a few level 25 equipment items on the market, and their prices are relatively stable.

He quickly settled on a leather armor set called Windrunner, which primarily boosted agility and constitution, and its special effect increased movement and attack speed, making it perfect for a marksman like him who needed high mobility.

He directly bid on the helmet, breastplate, leg guards, and shoes at a fixed price, spending a total of nearly fifteen gold coins.

Seeing the balance in his account instantly dwindle, Li Wu didn't feel any heartache. Money only has meaning when it's spent and converted into combat power.

After equipping himself with the new gear, Li Wu's attribute panel changed.

[Name: Seeing Through the Fog]

[Level: LV28 (10000/28000)]

[Class: Arcane Archer]

[Talent: Soul of Destiny (Legendary)]

[HP: 1120/1120]

[Mana Points: 10465/10465]

Physical Attack: 301.5 (Equipment +50)

[Magic Attack: 781.5 (Equipment +100)]

Strength: 95 (Equipment +21)

Agility: 303 (equipment +200)

[Constitution: 218 (Equipment +145)]

Intelligence: 495 (equipment +125)

[Spirit: 105 (Equipment +36)]

Luck: 200 (Equipment +1)

Free attribute points: 0

His 303 points of agility make him look lighter and faster.

"very good."

Li Wu nodded in satisfaction.

Now, the issues of level and equipment have been resolved.

Only one last and most difficult problem remains: money.

He can't possibly raid the Blood Wolf Guild again; that's too unrealistic.

Li Wu frowned and began to think.

He needs a fast, efficient, and legal way to make money.

Just then, he saw a golden-glowing pinned bounty on the auction house's homepage.

That was a reward offered for materials purchased by an organization called the Alchemists' Association.

They are buying up an unlimited quantity of a special material called "Heart of Flame" at a price much higher than the market price. The only place where this material is produced is the Scorching Canyon, Li Wu's destination.

The Alchemists' Association is buying up unlimited quantities of [Heart of Flame]?

Li Wu narrowed his eyes as he looked at the golden bounty.

This is like a pillow being delivered to someone who's just fallen asleep.

He clicked on the bounty description and read it carefully.

The Heart of Flame is an energy core that has an extremely low probability of dropping after a fire elemental creature dies in the Scorching Canyon.

It is the core ingredient for making the advanced potion, Flame Elixir.

The effect of the Flame Elixir is to increase the user's fire damage by 10% for one hour.

This potion is essential for fire mages and certain other classes to boost their damage output in dungeons, so the market demand is extremely high.

The Alchemists' Guild, as an official organization, issued this high-priced bounty to ensure a stable supply of Flame Elixir.

Each Heart of Flame can be purchased for as much as 500 silver coins.

500 silver coins is equivalent to the price of a level 20 excellent piece of equipment with superb attributes, and this is just a material for a consumable item.

It has potential.

Li Wu immediately saw the business opportunity.

The Scorching Canyon is a level 30 map, and currently, apart from elite groups from top guilds, few players dare to venture deep into it.

This means that the production of [Heart of Flame] is extremely limited, and the market is experiencing a severe supply shortage.

He has the ability to solo level 30 maps.

As long as he can guarantee the drop rate of [Heart of Flame], then this is an excellent opportunity to make money.

It's settled then.

Li Wu immediately decided to focus his money-making efforts on the [Heart of Flame].