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

"We have just completed the village chief's task."

Faced with Barton's oppressive questioning, Li Wu's expression remained unchanged; he simply stated a fact calmly.

"Deep within the Whispering Cave, we found Lina's belongings, a silver moonlight pendant."

"She...is never coming back."

When Li Wu uttered his last words, Barton's tall and muscular body swayed violently.

The anger and shock that had just ignited in his eyes collapsed in an instant.

Instead, there was an overwhelming sense of sorrow and despair.

His rough, calloused hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Dead...really...dead..."

Barton's voice, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat, was filled with painful sobs.

His tall figure seemed to shrink by half in an instant, and his previous powerful aura vanished without a trace.

He was like a punctured balloon; all his strength and pretense deflated completely at that moment.

"It's all my fault...it's all my fault..."

Patton pounded his chest hard with his large, fan-like hands, making a dull "thump, thump" sound.

"If I hadn't been so cowardly... if I had been braver and confessed my relationship with Lina to the village chief... she wouldn't have gone to such a dangerous place alone just to prove herself to the villagers..."

"She won't die..."

Large tears rolled down his cloudy eyes, down his messy beard, and dripped onto the scorching ground, evaporating instantly with a sizzling sound.

He choked up as he recounted, haltingly, the past he had buried deep in his heart.

He loved Lina deeply, that girl who was as bright as the sun.

However, he was a dwarf, while Lina was human.

Their interracial love is not blessed.

He was afraid of the strange looks from the villagers, and even more afraid of the village chief's opposition.

Therefore, he cowardly kept this feeling hidden.

All he can do is express his love in the way he is best at.

He poured all his energy into crafting equipment for Lina.

He wanted to forge the world's strongest armor and sharpest weapons for her, so that she could protect herself when adventuring in the wild.

The exquisite little suit of armor in the corner was the eighteenth birthday gift he prepared for Lina.

However, he hadn't had a chance to send it out yet.

Lina wanted to prove to everyone that she was not a delicate girl who needed to be protected, and that she was capable of being an adventurer who could stand on her own.

Alone, she secretly ran into that legendary cave, a place even elite adventure teams dared not easily venture into.

And then, he never came back.

Listening to Barton's remorseful lament, Li Wu and Hua Zitong both fell silent.

This is a sad story.

A tragedy caused by cowardice and prejudice.

It's unclear how much time passed before Barton's crying gradually subsided.

His eyes were bloodshot as he looked up at Li Wu and Hua Zitong.

His eyes were filled with endless regret, and a hint of...pleading.

"A brave adventurer..."

He spoke in a hoarse voice.

"I...have a request."

"I am willing to forge an unprecedented piece of equipment for you as a way of repaying you."

"But, in exchange..."

Patton's gaze fell on the huge iron hammer he had thrown to the ground.

The iron hammer was emitting a faint black aura.

"I need you to go to [Shadow Lake Island]."

"Kill the final leader there, the [Corrupted Lake Spirit], and obtain the [Pure Heart] from it."

"I need the energy of that pure heart to wash away... my regret and cowardice!"

As Patton finished speaking.

A crisp system notification sounded in Li Wu and Hua Zitong's minds.

[System notification: You have triggered the unique hidden quest chain: The Blacksmith's Lament.]

[First task: Obtain the 'Pure Heart'.]

[Quest Description: Proceed to the level 10 dungeon [Shadow Lake Island], defeat the final boss [The Corrupted Lake Spirit], obtain the quest item [Pure Heart], and deliver it to the blacksmith Barton.]

[Task Reward: ???]

【Whether to accept? 】

The only hidden quest chain!

And it's the only one again!

Li Wu's heart skipped a beat.

Without hesitation, he prepared to accept.

However, at that moment, Hua Zitong, who was standing next to him, suddenly became serious.

"Oh no!" she whispered.

Li Wu was taken aback and looked at her: "What's wrong?"

"This BOSS..." Hua Zitong's brows furrowed tightly. "This BOSS has a very disgusting mechanic."

"Remote attack bounce!"

"It's every archer's nightmare!"

Remote attack bounce?

Upon hearing these six words, the excitement on Li Wu's face instantly froze.

"What do you mean?" he asked instinctively.

"It means..." Hua Zitong's expression was very serious, not at all like she was joking, "Any long-range physical attack that hits it will be reflected back to the attacker without any damage, or even with double the damage."

"In the guides I've read, there's a famous archer who thought he had good equipment and high damage, so he refused to believe in the dangers and led his team to explore this dungeon. As a result, when he fired a charged arrow, the BOSS didn't lose much health, but he himself died on the spot."

"From then on, the Shadow Lake Island dungeon became a no-go zone for all archer classes. When forming a party, the first thing the leader would say was, 'No archers.'"

Hua Zitong reminisced as she spoke.

Li Wu felt a chill run down her spine.

Is there really such a monstrous boss? Isn't this specifically targeting his class?

Going in would be tantamount to suicide!

"Then... if I go, wouldn't I just be a burden?" Li Wu said somewhat dejectedly.

What can he do inside besides wasting the medicine?

Should I go back to my old profession?

I'll still act as a wet nurse!

Are we going to let Hua Zitong take on that level 15 elite leader all by herself?

That's simply unrealistic.

Hua Zitong is only level 11 now. No matter how good her skills are or how good her equipment is, she can't possibly take down a level 10 dungeon boss by herself.

"Could it be... that we're just going to give up on this mission?" Li Wu felt very unwilling.

This is the only hidden quest chain!

The three big question marks in the rewards section are incredibly tempting.

He was truly unwilling to watch it slip away from his grasp.

Just as Li Wu was struggling with this dilemma, Hua Zitong's voice suddenly rang out.

"Who said we're giving up?"