The sharp whistle of an arrow slicing through the air echoed a moment later.
It pierced across the vast distance of hundreds of meters in mere seconds, imbued with a devastating force strong enough to punch through most warriors.
Well, devastating force for an average warrior. But for Lucas, it was mere child's play.
Raising his left hand with calm precision, he caught the arrow mid-flight.
The momentum vanished in an instant. What had once been a deadly projectile was now reduced to a sharpened stick clutched between two fingers.
Without hesitation, Lucas hurled it back. The arrow flew faster than it had come, crossing the same distance in the blink of an eye.
But he didn't aim for the archer directly. No, his target was the branch the archer stood on.
A sharp crack resounded through the air as the branch splintered.
The archer dropped like a stone, followed by the unmistakable snap of another branch and then the sickening crunch of bone meeting ground.
"Didn't mean to do that... Haa… I swear, why do people always have such brittle bones? Breaking at the slightest thing."
Lucas had only meant to scare the intruder, not harm them. He'd aimed to destroy their perch, force them into the open, not to crush their leg under a falling branch. But alas, fate had other plans.
At first, he hadn't even been looking in the archer's direction.
He didn't need to. His senses were far beyond normal perception.
He could feel people's presence as easily as breathing.
But now that he had injured them, he decided to spare them a glance out of mild guilt, if nothing else.
And that's when he noticed the odd attire.
"All black? Are they trying to be a ninja? Do ninjas even exist?"
Head to toe, the figure was wrapped in darkness. Black cloth mask, jacket, shirt, pants, and shoes. Every inch of skin was covered, even the eyes seemed to be covered by dark lenses.
"It's way too hot out for that outfit."
Lucas wasn't affected by heat or humidity, but even he could tell the outfit wasn't made for midday sun.
With a flicker, Lucas activated Spacial Steps and teleported instantly, appearing right in front of the fallen figure.
The archer flinched and instinctively tried to jump back but pain flared from the broken leg, stopping them cold.
Any sudden movement was agony for him.
Then Lucas paused, blinking in surprise.
"Wait… you're not a man?"
He'd assumed the attacker was male, most likely based on stance, motion, or perhaps just expectation.
But up close, the body language, physique, and subtle features were unmistakably feminine.
Curious, he activated Piercing Perception and looked deeper.
==========
[Name: Zara Von Silver Wildflower-Walker]
[Rank: 6th Class]
[Level: 64/100]
[Race: Primordial Human (Unique Bloodline)/High Elf (Royal Bloodline)]
[Class: Archer]
[Unique Skills (1/1)]
-Blessing Of The Hunt
[Stats]
-Strength: 19,200
-Endurance: 19,200
-Agility: 39,000 (+75%)
-Wisdom: 15,000
-Magic Power: 66,000 (+25%)
==========
Lucas stared, stunned.
His unique skill, Piercing Perception, granted him extraordinary vision, and not just that, his skill also allowed him to see through illusions, read a person's status, analyze their magical signature, and much more.
It was a tool he relied on constantly, especially in battle.
The most important information?
A person's rank and unique skill.
Every ten levels increased a person's Class Rank. With that Class Rank increase, it come with a stat booster according to the Class Rank.
The maximum standard level was 100, which is achieving 10th Class. Unless you broke pass those limits, but that was supposed to be impossible.
Then there were unique skills.
Most people had one chosen or born with it. From royalty to commoners, everyone had a fair chance of having a unique skill, especially those of a lineage.
The Heroes, Noah, had five predetermined skills according to both the plot and lore of the game.
Players like Lucas could have up to three.
Normal people only had one.
But what truly floored him wasn't her unique skill or even her rank.
It was her name.
Von Silver Wildflower.
That surname belonged to the royal elven family. The only High Elf bloodline to exist, the pride of the elves, the "Silver Wildflower" lineage.
Beyond Nobility. Royalty. And not just any royalty, but figures worshipped by elves.
Lucas also had a very personal relationship with this family, due to the fact that one of the heroes was a princess of this lineage, and it wasn't the Saintness, Avery Clover.
But there was more.
Walker.
That second surname hit harder than anything else.
Lucas had assumed it might be a coincidence until he looked at her race.
Primordial Human.
He knew that bloodline well. Intimately, in fact. As that is the very same race as his own.
He stared at her for a long moment, thoughts swirling. The names. The bloodline. There was no doubt now.
This wasn't just a royal elf. She was part him.
The only person in the world with the surname Walker was Lucas.
Surnames weren't shared. Commoners didn't even have them. Only nobles. And noble names could only be inherited, not created or claimed.
That left only one explanation.
She was his blood.
A daughter? The implications were staggering.
A groan pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Rrrk…"
The girl, Zara, gritted her teeth through the pain, her leg twisted at a sharp angle. Lucas's expression softened slightly.
There would be time for answers later.
"Broken leg, huh? Must suck," he muttered.
"Let's get you standing... on one leg, anyway."
Lucas reached out his arm. Zara hesitated for a moment, wary, but then took his hand.
The moment their hands met, he noticed the stark contrast between them.
His hand was large, firm, and calloused. Evidence of countless battles and years of training.
Hers, in comparison, was small, soft, and delicate. Even her arm seemed fragile next to his.
Once she was upright, balancing carefully on one foot, Lucas activated Spacial Step.
In a blink, they vanished from the forest and reappeared inside his cabin.
He gently laid her down on a couch and moved a small table over to prop up her injured leg.
Slowly and carefully, he began to stretch it out, positioning it for healing.
"Rrrkkk… It hurts! Be careful!" she hissed, her voice tight with pain.
"Quiet down," Lucas said calmly.
"I need to align it first before I can fix it properly."
Underneath the layers of dark fabric and the mask still covering her face, he could see that she was sweating heavily, most likely overheating in her full-body attire.
"Take off that silly mask," he said, a little more gently.
"You'll pass out from the heat before the pain knocks you out."
"Uhm… if you—yeah, sure…" she muttered, unsure.
After a moment's hesitation, she reached up and pulled the mask down.
As the cloth slipped away, silver hair spilled across her shoulders and back like liquid moonlight.
Her face, now fully visible, was striking, she is young and undeniably beautiful. Her ears were pointed, just life elves. But what stood out most were her eyes.
Frost-blue.
The exact same color as Lucas's.
Their gazes met, a mirror of icy hues, like matching gemstones that reflected not just color, but something deeper.
Lucas didn't say anything. He simply smiled and turned his attention back to her broken leg.
"Give me a moment," he said, standing.
"I think I have a decent healing potion. Let's just hope it's not expired."
Of course, healing potions didn't expire, not really. But he joked anyway.
He disappeared into a back room of the cabin, rustled around for a bit, then returned holding a bottle glowing with a soft, rare hue.
A ninth-class potion.
The kind of treasure entire kingdoms would kill for.
"Well, you're in luck," he said casually, handing it to her.
"I've got a few of these lying around."
Zara stared at the potion in disbelief.
The color of the liquid gave away its rank immediately.
Her breath caught for a second.
She looked up at him, unsure.
"Are you… sure?" she asked quietly.
"Do you know what this is—?"
"Yep," he cut her off with a nod.
"Go ahead. Drink it."
She looked at him again, searching his face.
Then at the potion.
Finally, with a small sigh of disbelief and a touch of awe, she raised the vial to her lips and drank.
The effect was immediate.
A surge of warmth pulsed through her body. The pain vanished. Her bones realigned, the fracture knitting itself together as new energy filled her limbs. Her exhaustion melted away.
Every part of her felt renewed.
Zara sat still for a moment, stunned by the sensation.
She looked down at her leg, then back at Lucas, who was simply watching her expression which was unreadable, though not unfriendly.
She shifted slightly, clearly feeling better, though she looked even more nervous now than when she'd been in pain.
"Let's talk." Lucas said, his tone light, but his smile wide and warm.
Something about that smile made her more anxious than the injury had.
She had found him and now, it was time for questions and answers.