novelraw Chapter 39 : Three-Eyed Crow! Second Knight!
Chapter 39 : Three-Eyed Crow! Second Knight!
Chapter 39: Three-Eyed Crow! Second Knight!
Leo no longer wasted time and began studying his panel.
【Hunting (White) Level 2 2/100 (Perceive prey weaknesses, obtain information on hunted species) (Special Effect: Hunting Moment Level 1)】
Just while killing Goblins throughout the tower earlier, Leo had already noticed that his Hunting skill had directly upgraded to Level 2.
And after reaching Level 2, a new skill effect appeared on the panel: Hunting Moment.
“Hunting Moment.”
With a thought, Leo suddenly felt a drastic change in his senses.
All the surrounding noise seemed to be completely muted.
At the same time, the scene within his line of sight rapidly magnified.
The distant rooftop now seemed right in front of him—the tiles, even the fine weathered cracks upon them, were clearly visible.
That was over a hundred meters away.
The sensation was like playing a shooting game in his previous life—
suddenly switching to an eight-times scope.
And even more advanced than that, this zoomed-in vision did not affect Leo’s normal peripheral sight.
In other words, he wouldn’t lose track of his surroundings while focusing.
‘With this effect, if I had a Barrett… I’d be unstoppable.’
Thinking this, Leo shifted his view and locked onto the strange black bird standing motionless on the rooftop.
Under the perspective of Hunting Moment, even the texture of the bird’s feathers was crystal clear.
The bird had its back to him, facing the stables, its entire body pitch black.
It looked like a crow.
But in the next instant, as if sensing someone watching it, the bird’s head rotated sharply—spinning a full one hundred and eighty degrees—staring directly at Leo.
It was not an ordinary crow.
At the moment it turned its head—
Leo saw a third eye on its forehead.
It was a bizarre three-eyed crow.
Leo suddenly recalled something and picked up the bow on the table.
He had no real experience with archery.
Across both his past and present lives, the only time he had touched a bow was when he had gone to an archery range once during college.
Relying on that faint memory of simplified instruction, Leo awkwardly handled the bow and tried to aim at the three-eyed crow.
Drawing the bow, the string creaked under the force of his powerful arms.
But suddenly, the crow seemed to sense killing intent—it shot into the air with a flap of its wings and flew away.
Bang!
Leo released the signal arrow, but unsurprisingly, it missed by several meters.
Helpless—he simply did not know how to shoot.
He watched as the strange crow flew into the distance.
It was his first time seeing a crow with three eyes.
As he stared at the dark figure, he suddenly felt a brief dizziness.
Leo rubbed his eyes and looked again.
In that instant—
a streak of silver light shot upward from below, piercing straight through the strange three-eyed crow.
That was not lightning.
Leo felt it was more like an arrow.
An arrow radiating silver light.
Even more bizarre—after being pierced, the three-eyed crow instantly transformed into a cloud of black mist and vanished midair.
No corpse remained.
Everything had happened too suddenly.
Leo took several seconds to process what he had just seen.
The strange three-eyed crow.
He recalled the moment their eyes met.
Though it had only lasted an instant, Leo was certain—they had seen each other.
And that even more bizarre “lightning”—no, that arrow.
Leo looked toward the direction from which the arrow had been shot.
However, his Hunting Moment could no longer be activated for now.
It seemed this skill required mental energy to sustain.
Leo checked the description of Hunting Moment.
The panel automatically displayed an explanation:
【Able to suppress other senses to enhance vision; duration and cooldown are related to the Spirit attribute】
‘Suppress other senses, enhance vision.’
And its effect was clearly tied to the Spirit attribute.
Leo realized that although Spirit could neither be seen nor touched, many skills seemed inseparable from it.
Not dwelling on it further, Leo quickly refocused.
Because just now, he had noticed another change on his panel.
【Basic Archery Level 1 1/100, Strength +0.1, initially grasp archery skills, one arrow every three seconds】
This skill was a new ability under the Hunter class.
Basic Archery.
Though it differed from Basic Sword Techniques by only one word, Leo knew—
this represented an entirely different path for knights.
In this world, knights typically wielded sword and shield.
However, some took unconventional routes, choosing other weapons.
For example, knights with great strength might wield heavy weapons like warhammers.
Others, skilled in mounted archery, chose bows as their primary weapon.
Among the five great knights of Blackstone City, it was said that one was a master of archery.
However, most knights still regarded Swordsmanship as the orthodox path.
Moreover, with the prevalence of full-body armor, ranged weapons like bows found it difficult to dominate in battle.
Thus, archery was generally treated as a practical skill within Hunting, one of the Six Knightly Arts, used for acquiring food in the wild.
Leo recalled reading in the 《Beastkin Compendium》 about a type of Beastkin called Headhunters.
These Beastkin were in constant conflict with the Elf race—
and Elves excelled at archery.
Pulling his thoughts back, Leo hadn’t expected to unlock a new skill unintentionally.
But once unlocked, he could push it to the limit through his panel.
Just like Basic Sword Techniques, Basic Archery also increased Strength.
“Looks like I have another option to grind.”
However, something felt strange—
as the crow disappeared, the sounds of battle throughout the castle seemed to gradually subside.
At this moment, the Knight’s Squires gathered below the watchtower, uneasy and restless.
For them, today was undoubtedly unforgettable.
Until—
from a distant corner, a group of cavalry bearing flags charged out.
Only then did the Squires let out a breath of relief, smiles appearing on their faces.
“Look—that’s a messenger from the city guard.”
The appearance of cavalry bearing Blackstone City’s flag signified that the battle had been won.
And the messenger brought not only news of victory—
but also a summons from the Knight Hall.
“All personnel are to assemble at the Knight Hall. Lord Ray Fley will interrogate everyone in the castle.”
……
“Have you heard? Luckily, the Second Knight Ray Fley returned this time—otherwise, Blackstone Castle might not have held.”
“I saw it myself—one arrow pierced through three Goblins’ heads.”
“I even saw him shoot five arrows at once!”
Leo stood before the imposing Knight Hall.
This building, located at the heart of the castle, was the closest he had ever been to it.
Along with the other Knight’s Squires, Leo was led through the main gate.
Inside was a modest courtyard, guarded by soldiers at the entrance.
The great battle had just ended, and the Squires were still unsettled. Soon, chatter filled the air.
Leo listened carefully to their conversations.
The name mentioned most frequently—
was the Second Knight of Blackstone City, who had just returned from outside the city:
Ray Fley.