Yi Qiang crouched on the ground.
His aura was nonexistent, which, coupled with the utter lack of movement on his part, mad him as inanimate as the rock lying next to him.
His sharp eyes, however, took in the only subject in which Yi Qiang held any interest. He regarded the monstrous tiger in front of him, every bulging muscle that flexed ever so slightly to move it as it walked around in circles.
He had been tracking another participant when the sound of the roar of a titan reached him, diverting his attention, not out of a short attention span on Yi Qiang's part, but an analysis of the options he had. He could have continued to track his current prey and plunder perhaps one or two badges, or he could have switched to this new attraction, netting him a bundle of experience and, if he was lucky, items he could find useful.
It would not be without danger, judging from the volume of the roar, but few things were these days. Besides, Yi Qiang was already on the fourth day of the first round. He had three more days to collect as many badges as he could, and efficiency would only rise as the passing of time allowed the symbols to continue to gather around those of higher power. In other words, the more he waited, the more his targets of a higher power level would be worth.
The decision was quick - in an instant, Yi Qiang's direction changed drastically, and he sped up, heading to the exact location he had estimated the tiger to be.
And thus, he found himself here, stalking what seemed to be an apex predator of the region. Yi Qiang had also identified the cause of the roar as the similarly-inflated wolf corpse lying in front of the tiger, brutally mangled in what appeared to be a savage battle.
The tiger, however, had won with only minor wounds, meaning Yi Qiang wouldn't find himself with a less time-consuming hunt just because his prey had just fought.
He didn't expect much else, though. Instead of a tedious task, this was shaping up to be a welcome reminder of Yi Qiang's previous days as a sniper, waiting for what sometimes turned out to be hours for the ideal moment. This hunt was no different, not including the object of his efforts, from the perfect stillness he had to assume to the careful vigilance he had to retain.
After a long enough time of waiting and assessing this colossal tiger's power, however, Yi Qiang deemed an instant kill possible - difficult, no doubt, but if all the factors lined up just right, possible.
Yi Qiang was hesitant to use Analyze, as well, because, as he had already seen, those of a particular power could detect when he used Analyze on them. He also doubted he could gather any useful information from the skill. What Analyze told the user was level-based, and Yi Qiang's comparatively low level for his strength meant it was useless when he was confronting those that could fight him on even terms.
And it was the job of an expert huntsman to make sure those factors lined up. Chance had no part to play in the orchestrated masterpiece that was Yi Qiang's work.
It had worked in the marksman's favor, though, today, as it seemed that the tiger was preparing to go to sleep in what was convenient defiance of the sun's position high in the sky.
Cat-hunting is always both painstaking and refreshing, Yi Qiang thought as he reminisced about his earlier days hunting beasts like tigers and leopards on Earth. He had learned early on that their laziness and single-minded focus counterbalanced their sharp reflexes and quick movements.
And it seemed that would not change, regardless of how high up Yi Qiang went in the feline power hierarchy.
This time, in the interest of caution, Yi Qiang refrained from summoning his bow with Empyrean Armaments instantly. Instead, he started with a ball of his Qi in his hand and controlled it, making it slowly melt into his envisioned form. His movements were because quick or instant action may have the effect of either alerting his prey or causing a reaction in the surroundings, both of which would make his hunt significantly more difficult. After all, at this point, Yi Qiang still wasn't confident he would be able to beat this titanic beast in a fair fight, especially not without taking significant damage, which was also in his best interest. After all, if there were someone lucky enough to encounter him while he was injured, Yi Qiang couldn't guarantee he would be safe. Even excluding that, an excessive injury would put him out of commission for a while, from which Yi Qiang would suffer significantly.
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Wary of the tiger's ability to survive the one chance he had to end this battle before it began, Yi Qiang poured a full 500 points of Qi into the bow and packed 10 points into his arrow. This way, he would still be at, functionally, full fighting capacity if his ambush failed, but his attack was still strong enough to make that unlikely.
His arm as steady as his gaze, Yi Qiang pulled back the bowstring, straightening his back just enough so that it wouldn't affect his aim.
His eyes focused on the exact point he wanted to hit - there was an area on the tiger's neck, as there was with almost all animals, that was significantly more vulnerable than any other spot. If he angled the shot just right, from Yi Qiang's location relative to the tiger, his arrow would penetrate his prey's brain before it even woke up.
With no reason to wait any longer, Yi Qiang's hand relaxed, loosing the arrow. At the same time, he willed for the skill he had all but forgotten about, Dragon Marksman's Judgement, to activate. It was powerful, of that there was no doubt, but more difficult for Yi Qiang to practice than any of his other skills, discounting some of the other active skills. Boosted by the skill's power, it shot faster than even the marksman's eyes could track and sank into its neck. The arrow moved precisely according to how he had intended, the tiger's only response being a slight tensing of its muscles before it relaxed once more, this time out of a more long-term sleep.
It took only a second before the tiger's corpse disintegrated, turning into dust and sinking into the ground.
The first thing Yi Qiang paid attention to was the string of level-ups, bringing the archer's level from 31 to 50 with the single kill. With the change, he gained an influx of 122 stat points. His physical stats also increased by 38, each, thanks to the class trait of growing by two each time he leveled up.
Not only that, the surge of experience seemed to benefit all of the skills used during the hunt, granting him bonus levels in Stealth, Empyrean Armaments, Qi Control, and Dragon Marksman's Judgement, bringing their levels to a significantly higher standard.
He also gained what he had forgotten about so long ago, a new class skill. Back when Yi Qiang became a Dragon Marksman, the screen had said that every 50 levels, he would gain a new class skill. Now that he became level 50, Yi Qiang received his first new skill from Dragon Marksman.
You have gained a skill from your class!
Dragon's Devastation(Active, Level 1 Novice)
At Level 1,
Deals 100% damage to all enemies in a 30-feet cone from the user.
Cost: 150 stamina.
Arrow Burst has been combined with Dragon's Devastation!
The level of Dragon's Devastation has risen!
Dragon's Devastation(Active, Level 4 Novice)
At Level 4,
Deals 100.8% damage to all enemies in a 32-feet cone from the user.
Cost: 150 stamina.
Finally, there were two items that the colossal tiger left behind, shining in the spot it died.
Yi Qiang archived the skill in his mind, desiring to use it as soon as he could in the right situation, and walked over, picking up and Analyzing the bracelet and pants that the tiger dropped.
Bracelet of the Hidden Predator
Epic
+10% to stealth effectiveness
+20% damage when attacking unsuspecting prey
+20 Strength
+20 Agility
+10 Dexterity
Ancient Forest Tiger's Guards
Epic
150 armor
+10% speed
+5% to unarmed damage
+50 Vitality
+50 Strength
Yi Qiang internally grinned in pleasant surprise. The bracelet is perfect for me! Unfortunately, leather armor is too restrictive and loud for my tastes, and its bonuses don't suit me, but there's no doubt it's worth more money than I've ever held at one point.
Immediately, Yi Qiang slipped on the bracelet, feeling new power rush through his body. He also stowed the leg armor in his Inventory, keeping it to sell it later. Maybe I'll sell it to Elias; these would be a perfect fit for him.
Next, he checked out his stats. Seeing that, with the free points given by his new levels to each physical stat(which, in his case, was all of them), he was free to assign points as he wished because they were all over 250, Yi Qiang got to some math.
In total, he exhausted all of his stat points by spending 54 points in Strength, 12 points in Agility, 26 in Dexterity, and an incredible 130 points in Vigor. He noticed he had spent far more than he should have in Constitution, but Yi Qiang just kept that in his mind and planned to work off the imbalance by holding off on putting any points into it.
In response to the incredible new power flowing through his body, a new degree of improvement which Yi Qiang was previously unfamiliar with, the archer felt obligated to fire a few shots to familiarize himself with his new power. Exploring it took only 10 minutes, after which Yi Qiang was in perfect control of his body once again.
And, with a far more impressive status screen than before, Yi Qiang took off into the trees with speed incomparable to earlier.