[Feat Earned] [Runic One (1)] – You just consumed over twenty runes. Such a feat cannot be easily discounted, as your strength will reach new heights. Strength + 50

  Name: Suna Amor

  Level. 21

  Class: [Archer]

  Rune: 16 → 41

  Feat: 5 → 6

  Mana: 520/520 → 1250/1250

  Class Skill (7/15)

  - Archer Sense [Common]

  - Archer Backstep [Common]

  - Mana Arrow [Uncommon]

  - Moving Shot [Uncommon]

  - Flint Draw [Uncommon]

  - Arcane String [Uncommon]

  - Bow of Wind [Uncommon]

  General Skill (6/15)

  - Quick Draw [Common]

  - Drowfication [Rare]

  - Rune Seeker [Uncommon]

  - Gale Step [Uncommon]

  - Air pocket [Common]

  - Heat Sense [Common]

  Strength: 209 → 400

  Dexterity: 353 → 425

  Vitality: 45 → 135

  Arcanery: 52 → 125

  Sense: 97 → 189

  Suna's eyes quivered as the blue word assaulted his eyes like a hungry hound. Their sudden bright nature struck straight into his brain; he closed his eyes, but the word did not leave him. He took a deep breath and slowly crouched, just to feel the earth beneath him and calm himself.

  “Suna?” Slea knelt primply beside him, and she peered into his eyes. “They’re glowing blue… You need to calm down and dismiss them. Come on, one by one.”

  Suna did so. First was the skill explanation, which he would read later. As the blue letters blinked away, he started to rise stiffly.

  “Slea, dear. You’re with me.” The first Thiefmaster said, eyeing Suna and Pito, who had also just risen. It was obvious her gaze was not positive in any way as her eyelashes fluttered on them.

  Slea looked at Suna, her face asking without question.

  “I’m fine, go, you’ll be much safer with these Rune bearers.”

  “If you say so,” she muttered, standing and going to her master. She promptly whispered to her, and her master gave her a nod. “Min, Noa, Reki. Come with us?”

  --

  “Are you ready?” Desha asked him. They watched as the battle unfolded. From the right corner, a burst of flames engulfed the Undead Gatekeeper. But the fleshy golem just waded through the devouring flames. Slea and that Flue—whatever her name was–struggled to take down even one.

  James, on the other hand, along with his trusted Rune bearer, fought in the middle against the bulk of the Gatekeeper. They held seven of them back while fighting the remaining Fourth and Fifth Factions, who were still alive by luck.

  “I’ve been ready for a while, Desha,” Suna said.

  Hanging back with him and Desha were Pito and about a dozen or so Tieflings who would serve as reserve forces. But they’re not part of Suna’s group. No, Suna’s group has a much more important objective.

  “The master wants us to be the anvil… I finally spotted a place for us to weave in,” Desha muttered. “Let's go keep up, you two.”

  Without any other words to spare them, Desha flexed her body down. She launched forward in a burst of speed. Wind pushed against Suna’s brim hat, and Pito shook his head. “She expects us to just catch up with her? Something never changes.”

  Suna ignored Pito. He had been observing the way Desha moved. He copied her, putting pressure on his knees and bending on one leg. Suna felt wind building by his heel; it was the same feeling as when he was about to use Archer Backstep, but he launched in a different direction, and he wouldn’t skid; instead, he would run ahead.

  So he kept that in mind.

  He tapped his heel down, and the wind burst. He lurched forward. Suna's body resisted the sudden speed; he was about to fall. But Suna managed to bring another leg down and propel himself forward again, and somehow maintained balance. Pito cried for him to wait, but Desha was already too far ahead; he would rather not let her be this ‘Anvil’ alone.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Desha ran along a circle of Tieflings that managed to lure one of the Gatekeepers away from the corner so they could surround it. But instead…

  [Undead Gatekeeper. Lvl 25]

  The flesh golem smote the Tiefling in a disemboweling blow, thumping loudly on the earthen surface. Back then, Suna did not see the golem close enough; it turned out that by the end of each finger, it had a slight claw that was capable of tearing someone into two.

  With one sweep of his hand, the undead maimed the Tieflings–Bodies splayed open–Desha skidded to a stop and burst straight into the golem's back. She coalesced wind on her sword, and Suna saw how it spun around like a small, insurmountable tornado. Desha zoomed through, ripping into the flesh of the undead. She wrenched her sword left and drew a huge spray of green blood, which she scattered using her wind.

  The undead staggered forward, but it did not appear to be in any pain.

  Suna had conjured his Mana arrow already and aimed straight at the Golem’s head. He was about to use Flint Draw, but hesitated—before remembering his Arcanery stat had doubled, it would be much cheaper to use this, and more efficient. He decided to take the bet.

  Flame blossomed and danced across the blue shaft. Suna was ready to fire at the Gatekeeper's head, but there was something. Right on its right chest, he could spot a slight glow of white.

  What is it?

  His Archer Sense screamed for him to aim at it. But Suna resisted; he pushed more Mana, preparing for more magic output.

  Mana: 1150/1250

  Good, he could spend more, and maybe take it down in one shot. So Suna pushed for more and more, until something unexpected happened. The spell burst, splashing Suna's vision with flames that exploded in his face. His heart leaped, and he shielded himself—but the fire did not injure him; it burst sideways, escaping his body.

  He blinked. His magic had just exploded… And how come he wasn’t injured?

  Desha pierced the Golem's thigh; in turn, the Golem almost bludgeoned her to the ground if not for her quick use of Gale Step.

  No time to think.

  He would draw a normal arrow… Suna drew, but he could not feel his normal string.

  His eyes widened at the sight of his bow. In exchange for his normal trusty string, another string made out of pure blue was there instead. It was shimmering with Mana; he could sense what it was.

  “What the hell?” Suna hissed.

  He tried to draw with it, but the arrow just passed through.

  “Oh, come on,” he grumbled.

  “Watch out!” A voice screamed, Desha's voice. Suna raised his eyes to see the flesh golem stomping straight at him. It pounded a fist straight down. Suna skidded back in an instant. His bow returned to normal, and he released an arrow straight at the flesh golem's head. It just shrugged it off and began charging at him again, rushing through the circle of Tieflings around him.

  Suna rushed back again and let out another arrow, only for it to just stick into its chest, without even drawing blood.

  He remembered that the undead were resistant to normal attacks; it usually took magic to bring them down. He had to rely on magic, or else the casualty would be too much, just like the dead Drow.

  Suna summoned another Mana Arrow. He drew it and focused on not summoning the Arcane String. He was able to draw successfully, but then the arrow burst into flames against his will, and a gust of wind suddenly appeared in his palm, knocking the arrow away. A small burst of fire escaped him again and disintegrated Suna’s Mana Arrow.

  He scowled at the charging Undead, which had been taking in crossbow bolts as it kept charging at him. How utterly annoying, he had to skid back again.

  As he was about to do so, a serpent of flame burst ahead, sending heat through the air. It bit the Undead, causing it to howl in pain, but it ultimately prevailed and snuffed out the fire serpent.

  Suna turned to Slea as he kept backing away. The [Flame Mage] ran to him with a wand in tow.

  “I’m told to help you!” she shouted, “Your Arcanery!” Slea huffed, pushing a fireball out of her wand into the charging Undead, which shielded itself with its arm.

  “What with it?”

  “You surpassed a hundred points, yes?” Slea asked, blasting another fire as they stepped back as they talked. “Your body is not used to that control over Mana. It does not know what to do. Your master James flowed his magic to his sword and slowly hunted for Runes one by one, so he probably did not know this”

  “What do I do then?” Suna asked. He let loose arrow after arrow; his hand flashed as five arrows dug into the Undead’s throat in two seconds.

  Slea let out a gasped breath, and Suna did too, for completely different reasons. His dexterity, which his primary weapon has increased by a lot, should’ve made his arrow hit harder, too. But, this undead… They’re tough.

  “Your mind still did not recognize the spell. So just focus on one spell only, keep repeating its name inside of you…” Slea said. She grunted in frustration as her fireball did not do anything against the Undead. She took a step forward.

  “You’re too far!” Pito shouted, the [Monk] finally arrived.

  However, the Undead suddenly jumped forward, its body launching itself through the air, its belly plopping back and forth.

  Slea tripped, yelping. But Suna was there, slinging his hand around her stomach. Then he pushed his magic to his feet and zoomed backward with her.

  A crash of dust scattered forward, and the Undead stood again, fast for its size.

  “Thanks,” she muttered, her body still dazed from that.

  Suna summoned a Mana Arrow.

  He did not reply to Slea, his mind trained on his arrow, on its existence as a whole. A thing that was created from magic at its purest, mana. The mana shaped by him, by his very being. Now he forced it over him.

  Suna drew the blue arrow to his cheek. His bottom right eye was blinded by the sudden searing light. He had to blink away the afterimage later…

  The Undead stood fully, still being chased by the group of Tieflings. Pito and Desha were there slicing at its legs, but none of them could deal any significant damage.

  Suna drew a nervous breath, from his body to his throat, and he breathed it out.

  The air buzzed around his entire being. His Archer Sense cried in jubilation within him. This… This was a step forward… no, a leap. He couldn’t explain why, but his Archer Sense screamed that it was a great start to a grand path.

  He let loose the arrow, and the air snapped with a twang. A whine of mana burst straight into the Undead's throat, puncturing it deep and gouging a big hole through the Undead Gatekeeper’s neck.

  The Undead golem kept on running, not registering the wound yet. It might have crushed Suna and Slea if it had kept going. But the giant’s legs gave up on itself, blood splattered around its throat like a waterfall, a sign of too little life left.

  Mana: 789/1250

  The giant lay defeated, crashing down by Suna’s feet.

  [You Have Slain Undead Gatekeeper. Lvl 25]

  Around him, silence held. Even though outside of their little sphere, the battle was still ongoing, brethren were dying, and the need to kill the Undead Gatekeeper was apparent. But, they stared at Suna in silence.

  And Suna also stood in silent awe. He could sense every breath, the exhilaration of the strange power of magic running through his veins.

  This was different from the swiftness of Dexterity or the power enhancer of Strength. Those two stats were natural, a possibility that was always there, if not enhanced by the system.

  But, Arcanery though… Magic, it’s a force of its own, generated by his will and something arcane, something that escaped his fingertips yet still came when his body desired it. It flows like a river meant to exist within him, a mysterious and exciting power to tap into.

  Now knowing this, how can Suna go back and train up his Dexterity and Strength only? No, he wanted magic too. He wanted this power, to summon grandness and overwhelming strength.

  This is why his Archer Sense screamed.

  He lifted his left hand; his body just did so. Suna watched as a bow was outlined in it, made purely of wind. His eyes opened, and they truly opened.

  Bow Of Wind

  This is the path he wanted to take, a path of magic archery.

  “Not bad,” Suna whispered.