“Dammit! You refuse kindness and ask for trouble!”

Before Yuncheng GuTianle finished speaking, he waved his longsword, stabbing towards Jiang Bai's chest.

Getting caught in close combat was clearly a huge disadvantage for a ranged class. Jiang Bai understood this principle; it just wasn't necessary here.

Because against Jiang Bai's high 20 Defense, coupled with the [Abyssal Cloth Armor]'s damage reduction property, GuTianle's sword strike produced a number that shocked everyone present!

-1!

“Holy crap!!!”

That one strike made GuTianle doubt his entire existence. Although he wasn't a full-offense class like an Archer or Mage, Swordsmen still had a 4-star Attack Growth Aptitude. Plus, with the +4 Attack 'small superb' weapon in his hand, his P.ATK plus AP was 24 points!

Facing a squishy ranged class like Jiang Bai, how could he possibly deal only the mandatory -1 damage!?

Mandatory -1 damage was a system rule. No matter how high the defense, the minimum damage taken was 1, unless it was a Miss; a 0 damage result was impossible.

Seeing GuTianle's name above his head turn red, while the others were horrified, Jiang Bai directly drew his bow and unleashed a [Concussive Shot].

The two were so close that GuTianle had no time to react. As he saw the arrow pierce his chest, the numbers that popped over his head once again stunned everyone.

-64! -20

The red number above was Jiang Bai's normal damage; the "-20" below was the 20 points of True Damage granted by his weapon!

In other words, Jiang Bai's single arrow dealt 84 damage (64 + 20), instantly killing GuTianle, who only had 80 HP!

With that one shot, GuTianle turned into a streak of white light and vanished.

Instantly, the scene fell dead silent.

Only a clang was heard as GuTianle's +4 small superb weapon dropped.

Red-named players had a relatively high chance of dropping equipment upon death; this was part of "Genesis"'s penalty system.

“Holy Crap!!??” “Hacks?” “???”

The two remaining players were completely dumbfounded, staring like stunned dogs at where GuTianle had died, their mouths agape wide enough to fit an egg.

Never mind being unable to break his defense, but he could instantly counter-kill a Swordsman? Was this really a Level 2 Archer?

Even if GuTianle had put all his points into offense, his supposed 7 Defense should have offered some protection. How could a player at this level unleash such high damage?

"-84"!

That number completely shattered their worldview. After snapping back to reality, the two swallowed hard with difficulty, only fear remaining in their eyes. What thoughts of killing and looting could they possibly have now?

Meanwhile, Yuncheng GuTianle was frantically shouting in their party chat, "Dammit, my weapon dropped! You guys get back quick, teleport back to town immediately! This bastard hits too damn hard, don't go get yourselves killed!!!"

The two, already scared witless, heard GuTianle's shouts and didn't hesitate, scrambling away in terror. As they fled, a rustling sound came from the bushes behind Jiang Bai—two more Archers had apparently been hiding in ambush further away. Judging by their IDs, they were also players from the Yuncheng guild.

As for the small superb weapon GuTianle dropped, they didn't dare spare it a second glance, afraid they'd lose their lives just by looking.

“No wonder they dared to provoke me even knowing I had Purple gear. Turns out they had people hidden in the shadows.”

Jiang Bai watched the four flee, a cold sneer on his lips, but he didn't pursue them.

This was the early progression phase; every second counted. Chasing them wasn't worth it.

Besides, these four players weren't worth Jiang Bai wasting any more time on.

During the launch phase, development was paramount!

“Sweet.”

Admiring the longsword dropped by GuTianle, Jiang Bai happily hummed a little tune. It was also a Level 2 weapon, but this longsword had 1 more Attack point than the dagger he sold earlier, making its value considerable.

This was a small mechanic in "Genesis": when equipment dropped, there was a certain chance for it to generate stats higher than the standard values for its type. Such items were called 'small superb' gear.

Undoubtedly, GuTianle's longsword was a small superb weapon with slightly higher attack power.

Jiang Bai opened the Trading Market and chuckled at the bustling interface.

Jiang Bai had logged in the moment the server opened, but globally, large batches of players were still yet to log in or had just started. This extended "Genesis"'s initial progression phase, naturally making these low-level weapons increasingly sought-after.

Those +3 Attack Level 2 weapons were now being bid up past 7000 copper coins, meaning the hype for "Genesis" was still rapidly increasing.

“This situation should last at least another three to six hours before the mainstream player base likely breaks out of the low-level phase.”

Jiang Bai searched for +4 small superb items. There weren't many, and the minimum price was above 1 Gold Coin.

“Ten thousand RMB in the bag, hahaha...”

Jiang Bai wasn't greedy; he casually listed it for 1 Gold Coin.

He knew perfectly well that these white vendor-trash items were only selling at this price because of the launch phase rush; otherwise, they weren't worth nearly this much. Their value would drop quickly, so selling sooner was better.

After listing the item, Jiang Bai didn't bother checking back immediately, instead stepping into the territory of the Level 4 monster, [Ironback Wild Boar].

It was a gloomy area of thorny bushes. As far as the eye could see, besides Jiang Bai, there were no other players. Basically, only Jiang Bai dared to set foot in this zone right now.

Targeting an Ironback Wild Boar gnawing leaves in the distance, Jiang Bai drew his bow, activated [Concussive Shot], and with a sōu, the arrow cut through the air, embedding itself like a nail into the boar's back.

-55! -20!

The boar's health instantly dropped by nearly a quarter!

“Oink...”

With a squeal, the spines on the boar's back instantly bristled outwards as it charged towards Jiang Bai.

However, due to the 20% slow from [Concussive Shot], the already slow Ironback Wild Boar struggled to close the distance with Jiang Bai.

Relying on his extremely high 11 Agility, Jiang Bai now possessed the basic ability to kite monsters. Retreating while drawing his longbow fully, sōu, another arrow shot out.

-55 -20

The boar only had half its health left, yet it was still nearly twenty yards away from Jiang Bai.

“Holy crap, the slow from [Concussive Shot] is awesome!”

Jiang Bai was overjoyed. If things continued like this, he might even be able to kite this boar without taking any damage.

After the third shot, the boar regained its normal speed, but unfortunately for it, Jiang Bai's bow was already drawn again.

Sōu!

The fired arrow flashed like aurora lightning, instantly and accurately piercing the boar's right eye socket!

Critical Hit!

-110 -20

With this shot, the boar, which had finally struggled its way in front of Jiang Bai, collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

“Is the eye socket the boar's weak point?”

Jiang Bai stared thoughtfully at the few copper coins the boar dropped.

Critical hits in "Genesis" weren't entirely rigid. They depended partly on crit chance, but also on hitting weak points. Attacking a weak point resulted in a guaranteed 100% critical hit.

[You have slain Ironback Wild Boar. Obtained 0 EXP.]

Hearing the system prompt, Jiang Bai pursed his lips. He wouldn't gain any experience until this quest was completed.

“However...”

A sly smile appeared on Jiang Bai's face. "Old man, I'm afraid your 'grandson' here is going to disappoint you!"

“Time to grind!”