Noah stared at the [Assassin’s Dagger] in his hand and wondered if it would hurt. The next instant, he used his dagger to lop off a tuft of blonde hair, followed by a few more precision strokes to completely detach his precious hair from the top of his head. He wondered if a health potion would help grow it back, but for now, it didn’t matter.

The next thing he did was remove his hauberk and boots, safely storing them in his inventory. His tattered shirt was tossed away as well, deciding to move bare-chested from now on. Then, Noah pulled out a clump of soil and grass from the ground and started rubbing it all over his upper body and face. What Will had seen was a cheerful-looking blonde teenager with fancy equipment, that too in the middle of the night, instead of the bald, frowning young man who looked as if he’d spent the entire night digging for treasure.

To sell the act, Noah cut small lacerations across his chest, back and arms, to make it seem as if he’d run through an entire bush full of thorns to lose his pursuers. Bare-footed and bare-chested, with just a dagger and sword in hand, Noah made it seem like bothering to kill him would be more effort than it was worth.

The only problem was, Noah was pretty sure Natalie had an item similar to his [Lens of the Righteous Hunter], which were basically contact lenses, that once slipped onto the eye were impossible to detect from a visual examination. Getting the elixir of life wasn’t as easy as it was starting to look, not only did Noah had to fight goblins to collect the points, but he also had to be vary of unknown assassins that his large hoard of points might attract.

It was terrifying, really… had he never been ambushed, he would’ve never have known that such a condition existed. That meant that he either had to be ready to defend his points…. Or spend them. After Natalie’s ambush, Noah’s confidence in his own skills had been dampened, and he really wasn’t sure if he’d be lucky enough to survive the next time.

With a sigh, he decided to open the essence shop. The Elixir of Life was good and all, but one had to be alive to reap its benefits.

Essence shop

Water (1 day's worth)- 5 EP

Food (1 meal) - 10 EP

Healing Potion- 50 EP

Common rarity weapon- 500 EP

Uncommon rarity weapon- 5000 EP

Elixir of Life (Maximum 10 purchases per person) - 10,000 EP

Uncommon grade chest plate- 5,000 EP

Uncommon grade leggings- 5,000 EP

Rare rarity equipment (Randomized)- 1,000,000 EP

Flare Gun (3 shots)- 1,500 EP

Stealth Camo Tent- 10,000 EP

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Strength Potion (One time consumable)- 1,000 EP

Dexterity Potion (One time consumable)- 1,000 EP

Wisdom Potion (One time consumable)- 1,000 EP

Intelligence Potion (One time consumable)- 1,000 EP

Combat Art Manual (Common)- 2,500 EP

Goblin's Bane (Uncommon Grade Weapon)- 10,000 EP

Noah hadn't bothered with the Essence Shop much, mainly because the items on there were so ridiculously expensive. But now, since he had cash to blow, there were two items he was considering.

Strength Potion + 5 to Strength for 360 seconds. Effect cannot be stacked with another strength potion. 1-hour cooldown before another strength potion can be ingested.

Dexterity Potions had the exact same description, and having 1 of each would be an amazing boost for when shit hit the fan.

On the other hand, the Combat Art Manual also seemed like an attractive proposition, though he wasn't quite sure how useful it'd be in actual combat.

Combat Art Manual, Common Selects a randomized combat art based on any 1 weapon in your possession. May only be purchased once.

After a few minutes of weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Noah finally made up his mind.

Would you like to select a Combat Art for the weapon: 'Royal Oak Shortbow? Confirm: Yes No

Pressing the Yes button without any further hesitation, a small, cylindrical container fashioned out of a dull white metal popped up from a black hole in front of him. Taking off its lid, Noah gently pulled out a small scroll made out of thin, dull-white paper and gently unfurled it.

On it, a faceless man holding a bow was depicted, moving and shooting his bow in a variety of different ways, along with instructions written in a foreign text that Noah had no way of understanding. Just when Noah was about to cuss at his luck for screwing him over, a system prompt appeared in front of him.

Would you like to forcefully assimilate with the Combat Art: Silent Rain? Note: True meaning may be lost during the conversion process. Yes No

'Like I have any other option anyway,' Noah mentally grumbled, and then smashed the yes option.

A torrent of information flooded his mind, opening it to a whole new realm of possibilities with the bow. In only an instant, Noah understood why the Combat Art was called Silent Rain. It wasn't a way to use the bow itself, but a series of footwork that incorporated the use of the bow in its movements. While the shortbow on its own had limited draw strength, Silent Rain focused on the speed and stealth aspect, over accuracy. A flurry of arrows fired in short frequency, combined with movements for evasion, strafing for counter-snipers, concealment, and even close-quarters combat with a bow. While the last one sounded ridiculous, his bow could easily take a blow from any common weapon without shattering, along with some creative maneuvers that seemed a bit... out there.

If this was just a common art.... Noah really wondered where the uncommon ones were hidden. Though he wasn't too worried about that, he doubted there was much time left until daybreak. He'd spent a few hours at the tree he'd sought for cover, until he heard movement in his direction, forcing him to make a break for it again, in the off chance that Will was somehow still on his tale. This game of paranoid cat and mouse continued until he'd stumbled upon a clearing that provided ample cover. Now, there was nothing else to do but wait.