Before dawn, Xiao jumps out from his bed, excited about the weapon he will be conducting the test for today.
Xiao starts his morning routine by taking a shower, having breakfast, doing light exercise and maintaining his equipment.
Once he completed his morning routine, Xiao's heart danced in excitement as he entered his workshop.
"Now then, the main focus for today."
Xiao's eyes spark with expectation upon looking at his newly crafted weapon - a crossbow.
The crossbow was painted in black, with a Wood Chestnut stock at the end. It was different from any standard crossbow, for it was designed with two rails and two limbs. Besides, the crossbow was designed to be foldable, meaning that it can be kept in a holster and quickly deployed for combat.
"Let's take this baby for a spin!"
Xiao took the crossbow outside to conduct a test of its capability.
Not far from Xiao's lair lies an empty field. It was also the place where Xiao tested his weapon and gadget.
Xiao does a final check before putting the crossbow into a test.
After confirming everything, Xiao raises the crossbow and aims at a large boulder 8 meters away from him.
"Bolts loaded, setting it to rapid-fire mode."
Xiao pulled the trigger and sent a load of bolts rapidly shooting out from the two rails of the crossbow.
It took only 3 seconds for Xiao to unload 24 bolts. Each bolt penetrates deep into the boulder.
"This is better than I expected! The recoil is manageable, and the accuracy did not drop that much. Most importantly, 24 bolts in 3 sec?! Even I, the creator, find it absurd!"
Xiao happily dances around as he inspects the crossbow and the damage inflicted to the boulder.
"Now then, let's test out the second mode-the tank buster."
Nod in satisfaction, Xiao presses a button at the crossbow stock.
Immediately, the upper part of the crossbow limb retracts and merge with the limb under it. Besides the limb, the upper rail also connected with the rail under it, extending the length of the crossbow.
Xiao takes aim at another boulder, more enormous than the previous one.
"Morphing complete, fire!"
Xiao lets out an excited go signal as he pulls the trigger.
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A single powerful shot burst out from the crossbow. The recoil was so significant that it pushed Xiao backwards and sent the crossbow tilting upward.
The shot punches through the boulder within a sec. It didn't stop there as it continued to fly across a distance, destroying trees on its path.
Xiao was dumbstruck by the scene while the capsule-shaped container that was attached to the crossbow blew out steam.
"Thi-this power...what have I created..."
Still can't believe what's just happened, Xiao laughs lightly at the destruction his weapon has caused in front of him.
"Well...at least the test was a success."
Xiao showed a sign of guilt as he never intended to cause so much damage. Xiao then carefully inspected the crossbow to check any sign of defectiveness.
"Hmm...all parts still attached, no leakage at the power tank, string remains perfect tension..." Xiao murmurs subconsciously as he runs a full inspection.
"Alright, everything looks good. All that is left is to give you a name."
After the inspection, Xiao focuses his eyes on the crossbow and starts brainstorming for a name based on its ability and look.
"Let's just name you - Orthrus, since you have two heads," Xiao nodded in agreement as he decided the name for his crossbow.
The name Orthrus came from Greek mythology. It was the name of a two-headed dog from the story of Heracles.
Xiao came across the name from an online game he played before. He chooses that name purely based on how the crossbow was designed with two heads.
"Alright, that settles it. I finally cover the problem while facing a ranged enemy."
Xiao remembers his past battles with the Goblins. Although Xiao possesses daggers and a whip sword, it is still not enough to cover the range for enemies who hide on the tree with a bow and other projectile weapons.
Xiao was greatly troubled by projectile weapons and enemies he couldn't reach within his attack range. Not only did he need to watch out for their attack while engaging the enemies in front of him, but it also dragged the fight longer.
Xiao develops his fighting style to be surprise and ambush, which means he prefers ending the fight as quickly as possible before the enemies can do anything.
Since Xiao was no warrior or a mage, the best he could do was to use cheap and dirty tricks to win.
"With this on hand, I guess it's time to raid that place already," Xiao commented while he was on his way home.
The place Xiao was speaking was the hideout of the Goblin horde that has been dominating the area.
The Goblins have been causing no lasting trouble for Xiao ever since he lived here. Whenever Xiao was hunting food or gathering ingredients, they occasionally showed up to jump on him.
No matter how many of them Xiao killed, their number never seems to reduce.
Fortunately, Xiao's lair possesses a book that contains information about Goblin. It was written that as long as there's a Goblin hideout and what they called "breeding stock", they will continue to breed more of their kind.
Xiao understands the meaning of "breeding stock", which was why he was determined to wipe them off from the surface of the world.
"Pest like this shouldn't exist at all."
That was what Xiao uttered in rage when he was reading the information about Goblin.
When Xiao got home, he made a simple lunch for himself. After filling himself up, he starts to craft more daggers, bombs and bolts. Xiao also made some adjustments to his equipment and gadgets.
Xiao did all of this to prepare for tomorrow as he will be raiding the Goblin hideout.
"Rather than a typical raid, I think it should be total extermination," Xiao examines a finished crafted dagger as he murmurs. He subconsciously lets out a sly smile while thinking about the capability of this dagger.
"Better craft a few more spares, just in case."
And Xiao continues his work in silence that will soon end the life of many.