Lars had purchased each arrow for 5 Zents. In total, he spent 150 Zents on one bundle of arrows. His initial plan was to pull the arrows out of the enemies he hit and reuse them. Even though he currently had 200,000 Zents in his account, he was still stingy when it came to money.
But right now, he was frowning because every skill he used with the Divine Ranger class consumed one arrow. Still, the effect of each skill was incredibly powerful.
BOOM!!!
One of the tree monsters was obliterated by a single arrow from Lars. So far, he had already one-shotted around ten monsters.
"Hey! What are you doing, Lars?!" Max shouted in fear as Lars suddenly pointed his arrow at him. He immediately started running around.
"Don’t move, Max!" Lars chased after him before finally shooting him right in the buttock.
Zooom!!
The arrow struck Max’s buttock before disappearing. A yellow light immediately covered his body as the effect of Healing Arrow activated.
"What... my wounds... they’re healing!" Max said in surprise as he watched all the wounds on his body disappear.
"Why did you run, dude?! It... it’s really tiring..." Lars dropped to one knee after all that running.
"Of course I will run if someone suddenly points a weapon at me! Are you crazy?!"
Gina and Melissa then approached Lars with amazement.
"What skill are you using, Lars? Or is it because of your weapon?" Gina asked as she looked at the bow Lars was holding. But it was just a standard bow, one of the cheapest available on the market. Even the arrows were ordinary.
"It must be the skill. This is the first time I’ve seen an archer with a healing skill. May I know what class you have?" Melissa asked.
"Hmmm..." Lars thought about whether he should tell them or not. In the end, he told them, but mixed in a few lies. Of course, both girls believed him, but Max didn’t.
"You’re lying, aren’t you?" Max narrowed his eyes. "That must be a special class. At least Rare rank or above."
"You can believe it or not. It’s up to you." Lars smirked.
They then entered the Boss Area and were welcomed by a massive tree boss. Luckily, all the monsters here were Dark-elemental, giving the Divine Ranger a clear advantage.
"Everyone! Just go all out! Don’t worry, I will cover all of you! Hahaha!" Lars laughed from the rear.
"I don’t know why, but I feel slightly uncomfortable knowing someone might shoot me in the back," Gina muttered with a weak smile.
They then went all out. At the same time, Lars cast Blessing Field. The field continuously regenerated the HP of all hunters within its range. The boss occasionally summoned smaller trees to assist it, but with Max’s skills, they were easily struck down.
Then, after 30 minutes, the boss was finally defeated.
"This was too easy..." Max said as he looked at his HP. It was completely untouched. This was the first time he had ever cleared a dungeon while still at full HP.
Lars then looked at his quiver and realized he had no arrows left. He let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, he had bought just enough arrows.
"So this class doesn’t depend much on Mana, but more on how many arrows I have. In the future, I need to buy more."
They then proceeded to divide the loot. Lars only requested the Class Books. The boss had dropped Swordsman and Mage Class Books.
"Is it really okay with you, Lars? You contributed the most during this raid. It feels bad for you to only take those," Melissa said.
"It’s fine. Err... I like collecting Class Books." Lars smiled awkwardly. Of course, he planned to expand the selection of his Base Classes. The more Class Books he had, the more classes he could generate and combine.
Soon, they said goodbye to each other before separating. Both girls told Lars and Max to invite them again next time. Lars and Max then headed toward Max’s car, since they had come here together.
"Is it normal for hunters to party with strangers like this?" Lars asked as they walked toward the car.
"Yeah. For people like us who aren’t tied to any company, this is the only way to raid dungeons. Although it all depends on luck whether you get competent party members. Most of the time, though, you end up with selfish or useless hunters." Max chuckled.
"But if you’re in a company, especially a large one, they will usually assign you to a party that can maximize your potential and role. That’s one of the advantages," Max continued.
Lars nodded as he listened to Max’s explanation.
Inside the car, Lars watched the setting sun as they drove along the highway, resting his chin on his hand. Many cars were already making their way back toward their home.
"Max, how has your life been since you became a hunter?" Lars suddenly asked.
"Not too good, but not too bad either. At least I can still afford food and have a roof over my head." Max chuckled. "How about you? What did you do after graduation? I never expected you to become a hunter, you know. I still remember you saying you really hated the idea of becoming one back in high school."
"Well, things happened. I only became a hunter because I had no choice," Lars said.
"I see. Then all I can say is... welcome to hell! Hahaha!" Max laughed.
Lars smiled along with him. But at that moment, something suddenly crossed his mind.
"Max... have you visited her grave after all this time?"
"No. I... I don’t really want to do that. Honestly, I just want to forget about it," Max said.
Their minds drifted back to what had happened five years ago, during their high school days.
A tragedy that changed their lives forever.