Assassin at Range: The Sniper’s Lethal Power

By the time a Goblin evolves into a Goblin Leader, even the lowest-tier ones possess considerable intelligence. Speaking the common language of ExoGenesis was the least of their capabilities.

In a desperate bid for survival, the Goblin Leader offered an extremely generous deal.

A thousand gold coins was no small amount.

Based on the current market rates among major guilds, this sum was roughly equivalent to forty to fifty million dollars.

If this were the past, when Tristan focused on farming gold, he might have let the Goblin Leader go and retired on the spot with that wealth.

But now? This offer meant nothing to him.

He still had several Gold Grade pieces of equipment and a Gold Grade skill book that he hadn't even sold yet—items worth far more than a mere thousand gold.

Did he lack money?

Not at all.

To Tristan, Horreo's favorability points were far more valuable, as they would influence the progression of future quest chains.

Tristan looked at the Goblin Leader, his expression calm, his voice dripping with amusement.

"If I kill you, the treasure is still mine."

The Goblin Leader froze.

This bastard was too smart!

But it had anticipated this possibility!

The Goblin Leader suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Do you think I'm as brainless as those other Goblins who stash their treasure inside the nest? Let me tell you, I've hidden the real treasure elsewhere!"

Tristan raised an eyebrow, giving the Goblin Leader a thumbs-up.

Not bad. This one really had some brains.

Seeing that Tristan seemed to hesitate, the Goblin Leader pressed its advantage: "If you spare me, you'll not only get the treasure, but I'll introduce you to someone important. With their backing, you'll be able to rise to power in Davi City!"

Tristan's eyes narrowed slightly.

So, the Goblin invasion really had an inside connection.

And if his guess was correct, this Goblin nest was merely an appetizer. More Goblins would appear in the future.

Tristan understood exactly what that meant.

A major quest chain.

At that moment, the game provided an updated prompt.

"Ding! Choice Quest Updated. Please choose carefully."

Option 1: Spare the Goblin Leader.

Reward: The full wealth of the Goblin Nest (1,000 gold), Additional Reward: Cloak of Disguise (Allows entry into Davi City's secret underground gatherings).

Option 2: Kill the Goblin Leader.

Reward: +10 Horreo Favorability.

With the Goblin Leader raising the stakes, the quest rewards had also been upgraded.

This confirmed Tristan's suspicion—there was a deeper conspiracy hiding beneath Davi City.

And judging by this, the Goblin Leader probably wasn't even close to the core of that secret organization.

Meaning, even if he took the deal, he wouldn't truly gain access to their inner circle. Instead, he'd risk alienating Horreo, and that would be the real loss.

Tristan had made his decision.

His wrist flicked, and a Shadow Dagger shot straight through the air, striking the Goblin Leader with precision.

The Goblin Leader's eyes filled with madness.

If he wasn't getting out alive, then he'd take this bastard with him!

"Everyone, attack!" the Goblin Leader roared.

The remaining Goblins instantly charged forward, launching a flurry of arrows and lightning bolts that completely covered Tristan's position.

Though a single attack wouldn't kill him, this relentless barrage was another story. A few direct hits, and he'd be as good as dead.

Meanwhile, the Goblin Leader stood at the back, gripping its boomerang tightly, waiting for an opening to strike.

But Tristan didn't panic.

He didn't immediately use Rampage Charge, instead leveraging his absurdly high agility, sprinting at full speed, his movement so fast that he left afterimages in his wake.

The Goblin Leader's eyes nearly popped out of its skull.

What the hell?!

This outsider had been holding back the whole time?!

His actual speed was even higher than what he'd previously displayed!

The Goblin Leader felt utter despair.

It was screwed. There was no getting out of this alive.

The remaining Goblins didn't last much longer.

Between Shadow Daggers and Rain of Corruption, they didn't survive past three rounds before being completely wiped out.

With that, only one enemy remained—the Goblin Leader itself.

Once he finished this fight, the quest would be complete.

To avoid any unexpected complications, Tristan didn't hold back, going all out to finish the job as quickly as possible.

Ding! Hunting Moment activated, you have gained +1 Evolution Point! Ding! Goblin Nest has been eradicated. Quest complete. Return to Horreo to submit the task. Ding! Your reputation with the Secret Organization has dropped to "Hostile."

Tristan closed the notifications without much thought.

Aside from the Goblin Leader dropping a few valuable items, most of the Goblins only dropped low-tier gear, nothing particularly useful.

As for the Goblin Leader's loot, it dropped three level 15 Bronze Grade pieces of equipment, all strength-based. Useless to him, but perfect to sell in his soon-to-open shop.

Stashing the loot into his inventory, Tristan prepared to head back to Davi City.

On the way, he distributed his free attribute points from leveling up.

After completing his special advancement quest, his level-ups gave him a significant boost.

Especially Agility—he now gained +12 Agility per level, something most players could only dream of.

With Agility secured, Tristan could finally afford a more balanced stat distribution.

Before logging in, he had already planned this out.

Early game, he went all-in on Agility, maximizing his reaction speed and mobility, making him an unstoppable boss-killing machine. With his SSS-tier talent "Sniper God", he never lacked damage, so survivability took priority.

This strategy had worked perfectly, allowing him to achieve multiple world-first kills and earn massive extra stat boosts.

Because of that, his Agility had already surpassed 400 points.

At this stage, stacking Agility wouldn't bring as dramatic an improvement.

It was time to distribute points to other attributes.

In ExoGenesis, min-maxing a single attribute worked well in the early game. It even gave a better gameplay experience.

However, knowing that ExoGenesis would eventually merge with reality, neglecting other stats would be a fatal mistake.

Especially when the God Incarnation phase arrived.

To break past the limits of mortality, all four core attributes—Strength, Constitution, Agility, and Spirit—would be necessary.

Of course, a fully specialized build was still viable.

The downside? Your strongest stat wouldn't reach its full potential because of your weakest stat dragging you down.

That was unacceptable.

"I gain 15 free stat points per level. From now on, I'll keep putting 5 points into Strength, Constitution, and Spirit each, with Agility still getting the full 12 from leveling."

"With my gear bonuses, the stat gap will gradually even out."

Tristan nodded to himself.

With this plan, each level-up would net him:

+11 Strength +11 Constitution +11 Spirit +12 Agility

A perfectly balanced build.

In the early game, focusing entirely on Agility had been the best choice.

Now that he was established, it was time to round out his build.

Even Spirit, which seemed useless to an Assassin, was vital.

Many late-game bosses had mind control and illusion abilities. Without enough Spirit, resisting them was impossible.

Regular players didn't get enough stat points to cover all bases—they had to hyper-focus on just one or two attributes.

But Tristan had no such limitations.

Since he had the resources, he would eliminate all potential weaknesses.