Part of him wanted to join Jack in search of the fractured army; he thought it might serve him better, and besides, he was here to find out what was happening to James. But he couldn't in good conscience leave until he knew what happened to the humans.

  Suna picked up his pace as he traveled through the cold mist. His bow of wind created a slight vibration around him, like a small cyclone. The bow was cold and airy in his hand, but he still couldn’t grasp the fact that he could hold it.

  His arcane string appeared whenever he intended to shoot; he was sure this was not how it was supposed to work—the Spell String Mastery skill had forced it to respond to Suna’s will, and his new rare skill had also let the Bow of Wind properties flow into the string and enhanced the bow. And added to that, his Grave Vine Quiver, and its own enhancement…

  It struck him truly, just by deciding to dive in, he had already gotten much stronger. Against that Pyrebone Archer, he hadn’t had this much firepower. But he knew that he just needed more to defeat it, and he would do it.

  Opening his map once more, he arrived at the first X. And it was obvious by the marred blood straining the ground beneath him.

  Tiefling corpses sprawled across the ground, some even had their mouths submerged in water while their bodies lay against rocks.

  Suna pulled the corpses closer and took their mana potions and drank them immediately, refilling his Mana to keep the Bow of Wind active. A creaking noise made Suna crouch, pushing himself against a rock and dipping his foots into shallow water.

  He peeked over his shoulder and saw the outlines of several figures moving, not just one, but about five of them.

  [Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  The knights picked up the Tiefling's bodies and dumped them into something… A wagon? Yes, it was a wagon, with a prison cell on top of it. Suna peered deeper, and he saw corpses of Tieflings stacked inside, maybe two dozen in all.

  He picked up an arrow, hand sliding down the rock he rested upon. But when he was about to draw it, an idea crossed his mind. He could just follow them.

  One of the knights began pulling the wagon, and inside its interior was already brimming with corpses, leaving no room for more. They moved ahead, with the rest taking up guard positions around it.

  Suna followed. He tried to match his step movement to theirs, so the sound would overlap and their heavy strides would mask his own.

  With an enhanced arrow still nocked, Suna kept a watch for his surroundings. If they kept going like this, they would soon cross another X. However, instead of a sea of corpses, this area seemed to have been cleared. Suna heard another gust of wind and silently cursed.

  Another wagon appeared, also full of corpses. And another four knights were guarding it.

  [Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  The four knights pulled their wagon next to the other. Suna went to his knee, letting his cloak shield most of his body. A mana arrow was probably not the best option here. Suna did not know how many more of these knights there were around.

  He couldn’t see how the Tieflings would be able to best them without the Runebearers and the Thiefmasters. It was probably better to assume every Tiefling in this area had died.

  A groan escaped from a mouth.

  Suna's veins went cold, but it was not from him. Instead, one corpse moved.

  A hand shot out from the wagon, grasping one of the knights' swords, sliding it off the scabbard. But the Tiefling’s hand was too weak. The sword fell, clanging loudly against the ground.

  Suna shook his head as he saw all eight knights moving toward the poor Tiefling.

  One of them began to unsheathe its sword and angled it through the bars.

  Suna drew his arrow before thinking, aiming between the knights' rusted armor, around its neck. And he fired.

  His enhanced arrow sank deep into the undead flesh, and the vine burst out from the undead’s new wound, lurching to wrap itself around the knight’s neck and choke it. The knight gurgled. It plummeted to the ground, writhing in agony and with a deafening clash of steel against the cave ground.

  The rest of the knights turned, but by then, Suna had already fired two more enhanced arrows–two of them received the same wound, and each of their necks was wrapped tightly.

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  Just as Suna was about to draw again, one knight suddenly appeared in front of him. Its skin was matted with a black dot. Suna shielded himself with his Bow of Wind. The knight's rusted sword went down, but the moment it connected, the blow was deflected by the spell bow in a rush of energy. The knight lost its balance and Suna lunged, thrusting his enhanced arrow into its exposed shoulder. Vine shot up and slithered up to its neck, wrapping tightly.

  He kicked the knight down, four left.

  His bow just propelled a sword attack… That fact alone replayed in Suna’s mind. This might be what he needed.

  Four knights charged at him; now each of them was attuned with Drowfication. He could Archer Backstep away, but what would be the point of doing so? What would be the point of winning this fight, but he would still be stuck in this horrible situation? He needed to seek more.

  So Suna would do as Slea recommended, the acting. He had crushed some of his opponents with his obsidian bow. If he could do it with his bow of wind, then perhaps his mind would finally accept it.

  Archer's Backstep was one method of determining this. So Suna tested it, he cast Archer Backstep, and his body skidded back. And sure enough, in his hand now was the obsidian bow, not the Bow of Wind–not his spell bow. His mind still favored his obsidian bow instead; he still preferred the fact that it did not need any mana and had a physical manifestation.

  So enough was enough.

  Suna drew a sharp breath, and he threw the obsidian bow into the lake far away.

  He manifested his Bow of Wind, his body prickling with cold like each wisp of mist now exposed him.

  The knight pounced on him, two times faster than the others. Suna ducked the first strike, then weaved away from the second one as another knight tried to lunge at him.

  His cloak danced around him. Behind the two knights, another two now rushed in with their swords, brandished. Suna drew quickly, and he shot straight at one knight's thigh, piercing its armor. Vine wrapped around its thigh and coiled deep, sending the knight sprawling to the ground.

  Suna pivoted right, and he slammed his bow into the knight's strike. He blew the sword away from the undead’s grip and turned to bash the knight's open-faced helmet with his bow. The force of wind pushed it down, sending a resounding ring of steel as it collapsed.

  It wasn’t dead, no. But Suna did not expect it to die anyway.

  The other two pressed him, forcing Suna to dodge as he kept moving back. He parried the knights' strike; each slash he warded off would be proof to him that this bow was reliable, and hammered into his mind how real this was.

  He kept backpedaling as each strike of the knights got faster and faster. Suna knocked back another sword, but before he could connect to an attack, another knight would make sure he was forced him into defense.

  So Suna kept parrying, looking for a chance at a counter. However, one of the knights managed to strike him on his shoulder blade. His golden chainmail clinked and held. The sharp pain faded, he toughed it out, especially since Suna saw a movement out of the corner of his eyes–the third knight had recovered. So he pressed in, shouldering the knight, forcing its sword off. Suna thrust his bow at the other one, sending it reeling back.

  He tripped the knight behind him by slamming his bow to its greaves and whipping his leg to its helmet.

  Suna drew his enchanted arrow and fired down at the closest knight, letting the vine do the job.

  With the last knight approaching fast, Suna risked it and drew another arrow. He rushed his shot, and it landed on the gut of the fallen knight. The vine tried to wrap around something, but it was too short. Suna cursed and was about to draw another one, but the charging knight arrived with his sword in a downward arc, scything toward him.

  It was time to do it.

  Suna skidded back with an Archer Backstep, and in his hand was the Bow of Wind, drawn with his arcane string. A greenish arrow ready to release. He let out a smile at the undead. He silently thanked it for its service.

  The undead charged, but Suna's arrow punched through its throat, sending it collapsing in a heap, vine choking it with green light.

  Suna passed the dying knight and went into the one whose he had shot and missed. The knight reoriented itself, but by then Suna was already above him. He raised his bow of wind and smashed it down on the knight over and over, splattering its face. Green blood jumped, by the sixth strike, and the kill notification had come. So his Bow of Wind can also kill like a stick; he would keep that in mind.

  He went to the last knight, standing bravely, but limping because of the vine that wrapped around its legs.

  It ran forward, with a sword, chopping down on the vine. Suna’s vine wilted, and the effect was now gone.

  The knight’s sword launched at him, and Suna pivoted back, letting it slash at nothing. It lunged, and Suna warded off the strike with his Bow of Wind, tripping the knight in one swift kick.

  He refused to finish it; however, he drew an arrow. He let the knight stand, even with its Drowfication still activated.

  The knight charged once again, sword moving like a swift flash. But each was easily dodged by Suna. He then impaled the knight's neck, but couldn’t manage to do so with his Bow of Wind–still, the result was quite pleasing; the knight gasped and brought one hand to its broken neck.

  Another proof of his bow truly existed.

  Suna stepped back, gripping his spell bow tightly and bludgeoning it straight into the knight’s throat. It fell under its body weight. Suna finally drew an arrow and pierced its neck.

  [You Have Slain an Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [You Have Slain an Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [You Have Slain an Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [You Have Slain an Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [You Have Slain an Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [You Have Slain an Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [You Have Slain an Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [You Have Slain an Undead Knight. Lvl 20]

  [Level up!]

  [Feat Gained!]

  [Knight Slayer]—You have slain a group of knights. Despite their incredible training and life devotion, you bested them. Such a feat was one worthy of a master fighter. Strength + 30.

  [Undead Cleanser]—You have killed more than fifty undead. Disregarding their art of death, you have bested them and freed their trapped souls. Such a feat was brave and kind. Arcanely + 50. Strength + 10.

  Had he killed fifty already? It didn’t feel like it. But perhaps what was important was not his feat gain or his stat increase, but his resonance with [Flintwind Archer].

  Suna closed his eyes and sat down, letting go of his Bow of Wind.

  The mist was calming, and he entered it. The brimming night sky above and atop the rooftop was above him, the [Flintwind Archer].

  The class looked at Suna and shook its head.

  Strangely, disappointment did not come. Suna stepped forward and tapped the class on its stomach. He sensed it, the resonance pulling him. But it was not ready yet. By definition, [Flintwind Archer] was a combination of wind, fire, and archery. He still hadn’t gotten the fire part down. And it was obvious which skill he needed to use. Suna was very close; he could taste it.

  Now he just needed to master Flintdraw. Or at least something… fiery.

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