Chapter 88: Preparations (3)

'Cook up more, huh,' Jake inwardly pondered over his words.

He had said them in the heat of the moment, but those remained true to his goal. He wanted to become a pioneer in archery. His archery was much different from others because he was creating it without a profound foundation.

He was still learning a lot from Ingrid and Viktor, including basics.

Everyone's influence and even his legendary class also shaped him.

Not even Jake knew what he would really do next.

'If I don't become a pioneer, I'll be the next Grin Grid, right? She's a top archer and remains high in the rankings, yet not really many people want to follow her path.

Archers still have a lot of difficulties,' Jake thought, 'I mean, she doesn't appear that much on forums or streams, so it's hard to catch a glimpse of her... if my goals change and I will end up just focusing on myself and my archery, so long as I appear on streams or videos, I should still somewhat be a pioneer, right?'

Jake's gameplay had changed numerous times, including the rigid rules he set for himself.

The best example was his current direction.

He was heading to The Miner Guild to pick up a miner subclass and a title. With those in his grasp, he would be able to mine ores much easier and simpler.

It went against Jake from the tutorial times.

He matured so much that perhaps his selfishness would soon turn him into one of those adults who cared only about himself while discarding others and their feelings.

No one knew what the future held in its hands.

'Or maybe I will become an altruistic pioneer and pass everyone who wants to be an archer tips...' Jake thought, imagining himself as a man who spent days tutoring others on the training grounds. He'd pass them skills or maybe even legendary traces to enhance their archery!

He'd create a special skill to allow others to sync with their summons... or something like that.

Jake halted his steps. Someone bumped into him from behind, but he ignored that presence and fell into much deeper thought.

'Summons... it's the business I can start,' Jake recalled his misfit title, utterly forgetting the second path he had just imagined. He seemed to have matured so much already that he wouldn't do many things for free!

His parents and Ingrid would have been proud of him right now.

Jake, however, was one of the rare players to hear Victoria's voice.

[What have you returned here for, Misfit?]

Having an experience, Jake didn't freak out and calmly inhaled.

He spoke in his head, 'I want a beast-tamer subclass.'

[I could bestow a beast tamer class upon you... on one condition.]

'Tell me what it is,' Jake deeply stared into the woman's eyes.

It felt as though the statue's eyes turned real for a moment.

[Turn your traces into loyal weapons.]

Jake's relationship level with his summons was simple—100% Master because he had summoned them and given them names, and their friend percentage was around seventy percent, depending on the summon.

He was so close with them and treated them with love and affection that it was only a matter of time before everyone would be his best friend.

Victoria, however, wanted Jake to turn that into 100% Loyalty on the other end of this friendly relationship. She basically advised what Richard had warned him about if he did not treat his summons with enough care and affection.

100% Loyalty, Servant, and Enemy—that was what Victoria demanded from Jake.

Jake and Victoria were seemingly staring at each other in heavy silence...

A minute, two, three, and five passed, yet no one had said anything.

Jake curved his lips up only when a commotion broke next to the other statue.

He rolled saliva onto his tongue and spat at Victoria's statue.

Because of the commotion—caused by a player who tucked himself in another statue's skirt—the guards were late to catch who had spat at Victoria's statue.

Jake also was gone from the scene, his presence dipping into the bustling crowd of players.