Strongbows Awaken
[The skull of 'Bone Bow 1' is being replaced.]
Evolution begins.
Bone Bow 1 underwent the same transformation as Sword Bone had during its evolution.
Its height grew by about 20 centimeters, and its skeletal frame thickened like a lean person who had bulked up after intense training.
Wood-crack.
The moment the changes to Bone Bow finished, messages flooded in, dazzling his eyes.
Completing transformation to Enhanced Skeleton Archer.
Neutral attribute lineage.
HP gain per level increases from 5 to 10.
Extreme Archer trait applied: Strength +10.
Attack Power +30.
Piercing Power slightly increased.
Attack Speed +5%.
Movement Speed +5%.
All Stats +2.
It was an enormous stat boost.
With Strength up by 10 and all stats by 2, that alone meant a 12-point increase in Strength.
Adding the extra 30 Attack Power on top, the total Attack Power gain came to 66.
Incredible.
Even Mu-hyuk, who had triggered the evolution himself, felt a bit dazed by it.
Definitely different from Sword Bone.
Sword Bone had gained Defense and Magic Defense.
But Bone Bow got Piercing Power instead.
No Reaction Speed boost, either.
Mu-hyuk pushed the thoughts aside and checked the status.
Truly specialized for Attack Power.
Vitality and Defense were lacking, but Mu-hyuk was more than satisfied.
Archers didn't need high Vitality or Defense anyway. The tanks—Enhanced Bones and Sword Bones—could handle that.
He immediately evolved Bone Bow 2 as well.
[The skull of 'Bone Bow 2' is being replaced.]
Evolution begins.
Completing transformation to Enhanced Skeleton Archer.
Neutral attribute lineage.
HP gain per level increases from 5 to 10.
Extreme Archer trait applied: Strength +10.
Attack Power +30.
Piercing Power slightly increased.
Attack Speed +5%.
Movement Speed +5%.
All Stats +2.
Bone Bow 2's Attack Power neared 300 as well.
Good. Now for names...
No need to distinguish them as plain Bone Bows anymore.
Yeah. Strongbow.
Nickname of 'Enhanced Skeleton Archer 1' changed to 'Strongbow 1'.
Nickname of 'Enhanced Skeleton Archer 2' changed to 'Strongbow 2'.
The two Strongbows looked at Mu-hyuk and clacked their jaws together.
"You like the names, huh?"
He chuckled to himself, satisfied.
Definitely stronger.
But the thirst lingered.
With countless episodes ahead in Illusion, he needed to grow even more to avoid being crushed.
Don't get complacent.
But don't rush, either.
So, what level was he at now?
How much had the gap closed?
Rankings system.
A hologram appeared.
1. Dark (Holy Knight 79Lv)
2. Ares (Shadow Archer 78Lv)
3. Sky (Mage 78Lv)
....
9. Gus (Martial Artist 78Lv)
Dark was at level 79.
A 9-level gap.
Closing bit by bit, but surely.
Not yet, huh?
He knew, but clicked Top 100,000 rankers anyway, just in case.
No change.
Meant he wasn't in the Top 100,000.
500,000?
This time, it shifted.
381,217. Mu-hyuk (Necromancer 70Lv)
381,218. Anko (Guardian 70Lv)
....
There it was—his rank.
Ah, 381,000th.
With over a billion Illusion players, that put him in roughly the top 0.04%—elite territory.
Climbing fast.
He reassured himself and closed his eyes.
Logout.
Illusion ended.
The next day.
Mu-hyuk met Sung Min-woo and headed to the Mercenary Guild.
While waiting in line, he said,
"I need to grab an item, so we gotta head to the Yabbe Mountains."
"Solo?"
"Not necessarily."
"Cool with me. Got nothing else going on."
"Might take a while."
"No prob."
"Then let's pick up quests we can handle there."
It was their turn.
"Next."
They stepped forward at the staff's call.
"Quest complete."
"Hand over your Mercenary Badge."
He passed it over, and the staff scanned it with a strange device.
You have completed a Mercenary Guild request.
Confirming 'Request Difficulty (C-Grade)'.
Mercenary Points acquired: 100.
The message popped up, and the staff returned the badge.
"Good work."
"Thanks. Show me other quests."
"Got it."
The staff swiped, and a hologram appeared before them.
Dozens of quests filled the view.
"Search on the left."
"Ah, yeah. First, filter for Yabbe Mountains quests."
The hologram shook, updating to about ten quests, all Yabbe-related.
He scrolled left, checking them one by one.
"How's this?"
Sung Min-woo leaned in.
"Which one?"
"Help for Harun."
"Hmm..."
He glanced, but the rewards weren't great.
"Meh."
"Bengal Tribe?"
"Hold on."
Eliminate the Bengal Tribe
📍 Location: Mid-slope of Yabbe Mountains
🎁 Reward: Gold, Contribution Points
Appropriate Level: 75 | Grade: D
The Bengal Tribe on the mid-slope of Yabbe Mountains is highly aggressive, frequently descending to raid villages. A Weibra Empire noble, unable to stand by, has commissioned the Mercenary Guild. Annihilate the tribe and bring 100 Bengal fangs as proof.
The rewards caught his eye.
Contribution Points!
No hesitation needed.
Contribution Point quests were as rare as linked ones.
Only empire nobles could commission them, and they rarely bothered.
This was probably just for show, but that didn't matter.
Points were points.
"This one's good."
Plus, other players didn't know about Contribution Points. Nobles wouldn't explain—they didn't know either.
It was just a system point for aiding the empire.
Once accumulated enough, the quest-giving noble would praise you and show some items.
To access a personal vault like Mu-hyuk wanted, you needed a count or higher—rare for early players.
So, to most, it was vague.
That's why these quests still lingered. If word spread about the rewards, they'd vanish like stars in daylight.
"What about Katar?"
Exterminate the Katar
📍 Location: Base of Yabbe Mountains
🎁 Reward: Gold, Contribution Points
Appropriate Level: 70 | Grade: D
The Katar, living in Yabbe Mountains, were pushed to the foothills by battles with the Bengal Tribe, bringing them closer to villages. They raid livestock and cause casualties. A Weibra Empire noble has commissioned the Mercenary Guild. Annihilate them and bring 100 Katar hides as proof.
Contribution Points again. The rest lacked them. Only these two monster hunts had them.
"These two it is."
"Roger."
They took the quests from the staff.
Quest 'Eliminate the Bengal Tribe' activated.
Quest 'Exterminate the Katar' activated.
They left the guild and warped to the nearest village to Yabbe Mountains.
Still over an hour's walk away—too far on foot.
They hurried to find a passing caravan.
"Excuse me."
"Yes? What is it...?"
The apparent leader approached.
"Heading to Yabbe Mountains, but it's far. Mind if we tag along?"
"Hmm, tag along..."
"I'd pay a small fee."
"Ahem, well..."
Mu-hyuk handed over 10 gold.
100,000 won in real money.
Not a small sum in reality—or to game NPCs.
"Possible?"
"Can't turn away someone in need. That cart over there has space—hop on."
"Thanks."
Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo climbed aboard.
"Kuh, so cushy."
Leaning back, it felt like heaven. Straw padding made it comfy.
Breeze rustling.
Warm sun.
Perfection.
Mu-hyuk savored the rare leisure, enjoying Illusion itself.
About 50 minutes later.
Yabbe Mountains loomed in the distance.
"Whoa..."
He couldn't help but gasp.
The massive range seemed to embrace everything, towering overhead.
Overwhelmed by nature.
"Insane."
"Totally badass."
Things impossible in reality—visible, experiential in Illusion.
That was its allure.
"Gotta hop off here."
"Yeah."
They thanked the leader, turned toward the mountains, and advanced.
For the first five minutes, they were lost in the scenery.
But soon, no time for sightseeing.
"They're showing up."
Monsters appeared one by one.
Plenty of players too.
None nearby, but clear sightlines revealed parties hunting in the distance.
"Let's hunt."
"Yep."
Katar dotted the area.
Heavy armor, dual greatswords, mounted on rhinos—intimidating.
But level 70. Lower than Pascal's Tomb mobs.
Mid-slope should be easy.
The peak was the issue.
Trouble there.
"I'll lure."
"Got it!"
Mu-hyuk adjusted settings first.
Changed from 'Basic Info' display to 'Detailed Info' display.
Nocked an arrow.
Powerful Arrow Shot.
Aimed at the Katar, released.
Pang!
The arrow slammed into its chest.
-388 HP
Bounced off the armor, but damage landed. As expected, the pissed Katar roared and stomped.
Huarrrgh!
The struck rhino snorted, pawing the ground hard.
Its speed surged from moderate to blistering—the gap halved in seconds.
"Summon Skeleton Warriors."
Two Enhanced Bones and 14 Sword Bones appeared.
"Summon Skeleton Archers."
Two Strongbows and six Bone Bows joined.
"Summon Skeleton Mages."
Finally, five Mages.
Enhanced Bones—charge.
Strongbows—rapid fire.
Mages—prepare spells.
The two Enhanced Bones thrust shields forward and charged.
A massive thud kicked up dust.
The Enhanced Bones burst through, shoved back.
Four bone arrows whistled overhead, striking rhino and rider.
-232 HP ×2
-230 HP ×2
Over 920 damage in a flash.
Not done.
Bone Bows—all fire.
Bone arrows sliced the air again.
Mages—magic attack.
Five Mage spells lit the sky.
-680 HP
-627 HP
-613 HP
Overwhelming firepower.
More bone arrows pierced the dust.
Pang! Pabang!
Relentless volley after volley.
"Freakin' monstrous."
Sung Min-woo, watching, ordered his spirits to attack.
The barrage halted.
Whoooosh.
Wind cleared the dust—Katar and rhino already dead.