Assassin at Range: The Sniper’s Lethal Power

When the damage from Rend and Toxic Blood Plague fully registered, the total accumulated damage was over 10,000. In total, Tristan had dealt over 40,000 damage with just one strike.

It was nearly double the amount he could deal back in Crimson Tomb.

This was the benefit of upgrading his gear. The increase in damage was tangible.

And this was still with Tristan's equipment not being fully upgraded, with no additional means to increase his attack power. If he had better gear and extra boosts, taking down Gold Hook Jack's health by 50,000 or even more wouldn't have been a problem!

Even with his current damage output, Gold Hook Jack's nearly two million HP wouldn't last much longer under Tristan's assault.

Moreover, the situation was now in Tristan's favor.

With One-Eyed and Redbeard turning on him, not only were there fewer enemies to face, but the retaliation force had also been greatly reduced. Without being surrounded, Tristan could move freely in Stealth within the room without worrying too much.

However, Tristan knew it wasn't time to relax yet.

Heavy Fist, the third mate, hadn't acted yet.

Although the Minotaur had lower stats, it wielded a massive two-handed hammer, which had a huge attack range. If he started swinging that hammer all over the room, Tristan's mobility would be heavily restricted.

And the Minotaur's physical strength was incredibly high—its attacks were powerful and heavy. Even One-Eyed and Redbeard wouldn't dare to take them head-on.

Gold Hook Jack, naturally, was well aware of this and shouted, "Heavy Fist, kill the intruder!"

Heavy Fist didn't want to move yet, but thinking about the food Gold Hook Jack had provided, he couldn't just watch him die. Without hesitation, he grabbed his weapon and joined the fight.

Boom!

Heavy Fist charged forward and slammed his hammer, sending Redbeard flying into the wall.

One-Eyed had initially wanted to help, but Gold Hook Jack had already used his hook to drag him in for a brutal beating. He was too busy to help his brother.

After knocking Redbeard away, Heavy Fist gripped his warhammer tightly and began walking around the room, sniffing the air in an attempt to lock onto Tristan's position.

A moment later, Heavy Fist scratched his head in confusion.

He clearly smelled the intruder, but for some reason, couldn't locate him.

This was strange.

Gold Hook Jack felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

He had hoped that with the Minotaur's keen sense of smell, they could easily find the assassin, but to his surprise, it failed.

This was absurd.

Could this enemy be using a Stealth skill even more advanced than Edith's?

He hadn't heard of such a master.

Suddenly, a thought struck Gold Hook Jack, and he shouted, "Outsider, how much has Edith given you? I'll double it! After Gold Hook Jack dies, the position of Wild Arena Manager will be yours!"

Gold Hook Jack understood.

The intruder was an outsider, which explained his extraordinary Stealth ability!

For the natives of ExoGenesis, all Terra players who had just entered the game were considered outsiders.

As a level 20 Gold Grade boss, Gold Hook Jack had more intelligence and knowledge about the game's rumors, so it wasn't surprising that he recognized Tristan's identity.

After Gold Hook Jack's shout, Tristan received a game prompt.

"Ding! You have triggered a choice mission. Please make your decision carefully!"

Choice One: Kill Gold Hook Jack. Reward: Class Advancement.

Choice Two: Spare Gold Hook Jack. Reward: Two random skill books, the position of Wild Arena Manager.

To be honest, if killing Gold Hook Jack wasn't necessary for class advancement, Tristan would have gladly taken the peace offering. Two skill books were a pretty good deal.

But unfortunately, he couldn't do that.

If he spared Gold Hook Jack, he wouldn't be able to advance in his class and would be stuck at level 10 forever.

Even if he managed to get a full set of level 10 gear and a bunch of skills, it would be meaningless.

The level cap would be locked.

So, without hesitation, Tristan threw out his Shadow Dagger, letting his actions speak for him.

Gold Hook Jack knew that Tristan wouldn't just back down because of his words. He'd been preparing for this.

As soon as Tristan struck, Gold Hook Jack locked onto his position, his hook flying toward him with a blur of afterimages. At the same time, Heavy Fist charged forward, snorting and lowering his head to slam toward Tristan.

The combined attack from the two bosses instantly put Tristan in a dangerous situation.

But Tristan had prepared for this. Activating the Bone-Cutting Twin Daggers effect, a storm of sharp blades surrounded him, and he swiftly moved to the side, dodging by a good ten meters.

At the spot where he had been standing, the pillar was pierced by the hook, and wood chips flew everywhere.

Heavy Fist closed in, bringing his hammer down with a mighty crash, smashing a large pit into the floor.

Tristan's quick horizontal movement had exceeded Gold Hook Jack's expectations, causing both of his attacks to miss.

One-Eyed seized the opportunity and launched a fierce counterattack.

Redbeard, having recovered, scrambled to his feet and engaged Heavy Fist in a grapple.

Now back in Stealth, Tristan couldn't help but feel a little shaken.

Truthfully, if it weren't for the Bone Cleaver, the attack earlier, where he dodged Gold Hook Jack's hook, was the limit of what he could have done. He wouldn't have been able to avoid Heavy Fist's follow-up attack.

Though he still had over 2,000 health and the shield from his ring, it wouldn't have been enough to block Heavy Fist's strikes.

That combination of charge and hammer smash had knocked out many players, including heavily armored ones.

Considering the current situation, Tristan was determined to wait until the Bone-Cutting Twin Daggers cooldown was up before making his next move.

"I still need to get that movement skill book," Tristan thought to himself.

While the Bone Cleaver was useful, it took up both weapon slots for the main and off-hand.

As his level increased, these two items would eventually be replaced.

Even with his Sniper skill, it wouldn't change that.

Also, the Bone-Cutting Twin Daggers movement effect had a drawback: it would break his Stealth.

Tristan could only activate the equipment effect while attacking.

These limitations meant the Bone Cleaver was just a transitional item.

If he wanted to be more secure, he'd need a movement skill—one that wouldn't break Stealth.

Fortunately, Tristan knew such skills existed.

To learn them, however, would require some effort.

If he wasn't mistaken, he'd need to raise his relationship with a Class Mentor to 80 or higher.

Or he could take a gamble and farm BOSSes for skill books.

At that moment, another thought crossed Tristan's mind.

He wondered how the skill books Drake had gathered were progressing.

Considering the server had only been open for less than half a day, the progress probably wouldn't be too impressive.

At least the class advancement mission would provide a custom skill book, which should enhance his ranged damage.

As he pondered, the Bone-Cutting Twin Daggers effect had cooled down, and Tristan immediately took action again.

While Gold Hook Jack and One-Eyed were in combat, Gold Hook Jack was still waiting for Tristan to strike.

They attacked simultaneously.

One flung his hook, the other threw his dagger.

Considering Tristan's earlier evasion, Gold Hook Jack was prepared this time. He drew his pistol and fired at Tristan's left side.

Meanwhile, Heavy Fist charged from the right.

The two BOSSes worked together once again, trapping Tristan with attacks from all three directions.

Given their power, if Tristan took even one hit, he would be instantly killed!