Chapter 18: A Pleasant Surprise
After a long moment, Bald Liu's voice finally broke the silence: "Am I... am I dreaming?"
"Probably not."
The sound of multiple gulps echoed around them.
A massive prairie rabbit lay motionless with an arrow cleanly piercing its body – stone dead.
Though Chen Guodong's face mirrored the group's shock, having seen Chen Fan's archery the previous night, he recovered first. His astonishment melted into paternal pride.
Someone dashed forward to retrieve the rabbit, straining slightly under its weight. "Almost as big as the one from two days ago – forty pounds at least!"
All eyes snapped back to Chen Fan, brimming with disbelief.
"Kid," Bald Liu blurted, "how in the heavens did you pull that off?"
In his experience, only the legendary Wei brothers could make such shots.
Chen Fan scratched his neck awkwardly under their scrutiny. "Uncle Liu, I just got lucky, I guess?"
"Lucky?!"
The group stared at the arrow protruding from the rabbit's neck – a perfect kill shot. Since when did luck produce surgical precision?
"You’re holding out on us," Bald Liu accused, squinting. "Been sneaking off to practice?"
"I trained openly!" Chen Fan protested, exasperated.
"Openly?!"
The revelation sparked a fresh wave of astonishment. Questions erupted like popcorn:
"Since when? We never saw you practice!"
"Fan, this takes years to master! A one-shot kill at this distance? Saints alive!"
"You sly fox! We’d still be clueless if you hadn’t shown off today!"
"Old Liu told you to take the shot earlier – good thing you ignored him, or we’d be chasing fluff!"
Bald Liu turned beet-red, vigorously polishing his scalp. Had he known about Chen Fan's skills, he’d have swallowed his words. The memory alone burned.
Chen Fan caught Chen Guodong’s subtle head shake and hedged: "Let’s just say... I’ve put in some time."
"Knew it!"
"Shouldn’t have doubted you at the gate, kid!"
The group’s laughter rang genuine. Even typically reserved Chen Guodong wore a faint smile. That headshake had been clear – revealing Chen Fan’s mere days of practice would cause pandemonium.
Privately, the father marveled. The world bred prodigies – why not his son? Awakeners gained godlike powers overnight. Compared to that, sharpshooting seemed almost mundane.
"Move out," Chen Guodong ordered.
Right. One rabbit wouldn’t feed the village, but hope now walked with them. The air buzzed with anticipation – with this archer, what couldn’t they bag?
Chen Fan remained encircled, his protectors radiating "guard the VIP" energy from team-based games.
As they marched, Chen Fan checked his mental interface:
[+3 EXP]
His pulse quickened. EXP? A system reward for the kill?
The status panel confirmed it:
Experience: 3
A new plus icon glowed beside [Basic Archery Lv.4] (3% → 4%).
Three revelations struck him:
Combat boosted skill growth exponentially compared to drills
Killing beasts granted EXP
EXP fueled skill progression, not physical stats
The first two checked out. For the third...
He mentally nudged the plus icon. EXP dropped to 2. Archery proficiency ticked to 4%.
Bingo.
This changed everything. While meager for high-level skills, EXP could fast-track new abilities. Human limits meant diminishing returns – but EXP bypassed grind walls.
Better yet – prairie rabbits were low-tier prey. Imagine slaughtering armored rhinos!
"Fan?"
Bald Liu’s hushed voice snapped him back. The man pointed southeast.
A glossy black rodent, washbasin-sized, peeked from its burrow – a blackrat. Harmless but elusive, these expert burrowers frustrated hunters.
"Can you nail it?" Bald Liu whispered.
Every gaze locked on Chen Fan, hungry with possibility.
