I woke up with a start that morning... on the forest floor. "Ouch!" I could feel my HP drop to a certain level from the fall damage, but I didn't know by how much exactly. However, it would recover naturally over time, albeit quite slowly without the help of a healer, so I just had to avoid danger for now. I wasn't even sure how I managed to sleep on that tree branch. If anything, that just showed how tired I was yesterday from all that running. Remembering the Spider, a smile crept up on my face, and I felt like basking in the afterglow of my sweet victory, but I knew this wasn't the time, so I spped my cheeks and started doing some morning stretches. I know just how unforgiving this game can be, so I have to be ready for anything, I thought to myself as I stretched.

  I had three important tasks to perform. First, I needed to get my weapons ready. I also had to level up, as it would greatly improve my chances of survival, and stly, I wanted to explore my surroundings a bit more. If I could find a town and join up with some adventurers, it would make things easier, but... I knew I had to level up first. Adventurers were given a lot of freedom in Everst Dynasty. As such, they were free to decide upon the group rules they adhered to, but there was one unspoken rule that all adventurers knew by heart: Whatever you do, don't be a burden. You could break all the team rules and walk away scot-free if you proved yourself invaluable to them, but on the other hand, being a burden was the quickest way to get kicked out, so I had to ensure I could bring something to the table.

  I sat down under the tree and started fiddling with my "bow." To be honest, I'm gd this turned out to be a game. Otherwise, I might have gone around as the "Boomerang Hero" or something. Just thinking about that made me cringe, so I idled away with other such useless thoughts as I fixed the thread to the bow. Looking at my finished product, I thought, It's a bit rough, but it's finally starting to resemble a bow. All that was left now were the arrows, but I had some other ideas regarding them. I grabbed a heavy, round Boulder-kun and affixed it to a branch with my remaining silky thread. Why did I do this? It was simple. I really wasn't all that smart. I couldn't make an arrow to save my life, and I didn't have the time to go searching for materials, so I decided on another approach. It would be risky, but I knew that if it worked, I would have all the arrows I would need for a while, so I waited patiently under the tree until night fell.

  It was cold, and I could hardly see a thing, but that did not deter me. I was determined to see this pn to its completion because I knew that my survival depended on it. I mustn't make any mistakes, I thought to myself as I slowly plunged into danger. My muscles were tense, and my heart was beating faster than ever. My body was on full alert mode as I turned around every ten seconds, checking my surroundings carefully. I held my bow firmly in one hand and Boulder-kun in the other. I only had one shot, and I had to make it count. Maybe I made a mistake, my self-doubt started speaking. Listening to it and turning back was tempting, but I refused to do that. There's no mistake here, I thought to myself. Skeletons appear more frequently at night.

  Hearing a nearby noise, I hid behind a tree and observed what looked to be a walking corpse. I couldn't make out its features because of the darkness, but even then, I could tell it was hideous in appearance and grotesque in form. And the putrid odor was one my nose wasn't going to forget anytime soon. I'm going to sleep peacefully tonight. That's for sure, I thought as I left that area.

  I couldn't depend much on my eyes, so I had to use all my other senses to their full capacity. If this were a novel, I would probably acquire some new [Detection] skill at this point, right? I thought and waited expectantly. No luck, huh? Oh, well. Just then, an eerie sound brought me back to full alert mode. It was the sound of bones walking, but I didn't rejoice just yet because there was a chance it wouldn't be an archer. Skeletons had three primary csses of their own: Skeleton Swordsman, Skeleton Lancer, and Skeleton Archer, so there was a one in three chance that it would be a Skeleton Archer. Quite low if you ask me.

  I hid behind a tree and strained my eyes to see what sort of weapon it was holding, and to my surprise, it was a bow! Exactly what I was looking for! I didn't want to kill it for its bow but rather for the arrows it dropped when defeated. So, I readied my bow and prayed that I would not miss, as everything depended on this shot. Boulder-kun, I'm counting on you, and after taking a deep breath, I released my one and only arrow toward the Skeleton Archer. It was as if time stopped at that moment. If I missed, it would notice and start targeting me with its arrows.

  Skeleton Archers weren't as threatening as HellHounds or Spiders, but their high skill stat made them dangerous foes to contend with, as you could be sure that they wouldn't miss. That could be especially fatal for lower-level csses like mine, and I didn't even have another shot to fight with, so I really would be finished. I stood there, almost ready to make a run for it, when I heard a satisfying sound. It was like music to my ears. Boulder-kun blew it away like a bowling ball clearing all the bowling pins, and I gained 17EXP. Without further ado, I rushed to the scene and found the arrows in their quiver, waiting for me to use them. I felt like crying tears of joy at the sight of them. I've been saved, I thought to myself as I grabbed them and returned to safety.