Purpose

Sir, what are you doing?" Oliver asked spontaneously, too confused by the man's actions.

After all, what he was doing looked kind of... dumb.

Was he trying to destroy that black egg?

But hey, why go to so much trouble?

Wasn't it just an egg?

And why did it need to be destroyed?

Apparently, Oliver's question made the man furrow his brows.

"Hmm, so you're a Cultivator, not an Awakener," he said, as if only just realizing it.

"In that case, your reward is this wine."

He then pulled out a bottle containing thick-looking red wine.

The bottle itself was just an ordinary water bottle, but the wine inside looked anything but ordinary.

Oliver simply stared at it and immediately felt his mind drawn to cultivating—trying to comprehend scriptures and techniques.

And that was just from looking at it. What would happen if he smelled or drank it?

Of course, he realized that this wine was likely something that could significantly aid his cultivation—a rare resource useless to Awakeners but something Cultivators would do anything to get.

"Are you serious?" Oliver asked.

"You think I'd joke with a brat like you?" the man replied, clearly annoyed.

After saying that, he threw the bottle toward him, landing right in front of Oliver.

"Don't even think about running away after getting your reward. Do your job first," he added coldly.

Oliver gave a wry smile. He didn't expect to receive the reward even before starting the task.

But this wasn't something easily found. How could he turn it down? All he had to do was plant the remaining arrows.

The man also didn't seem unreasonable, so Oliver didn't feel uncomfortable staying in the underground chamber.

It seemed like he didn't even need to mention his teacher's name.

He walked over to the man, picked up the pile of arrows, and began sticking them into the ground one by one.

"What's your name, boy?" the man asked as Oliver got to work.

He seemed to just want to chat.

"Oliver Whitemoon. And you, sir?"

"I'm Rowan Lee, but people more often call me the Crazy Archer."

Oliver had never heard of him—then again, he didn't know much about the big names among Awakeners or Cultivators. Many were famous only in their own circles, far from media exposure.

He nodded upon hearing the name and said, "Your archery skills must be unmatched if people call you that. Did the giant snake outside die from your arrow?"

"Yeah, the thing was chasing me but died from just one of my arrows. Pathetic, really," Rowan Lee replied.

With that confirmation, Oliver couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Still, he chose not to pry further since the man didn't seem like he'd explain what he was actually doing there.

The task was light—especially for someone used to working in a workshop.

Still, it was a job that required time and patience. Occasionally he felt a bit impatient, while Rowan Lee looked relaxed and was simply resting, sometimes asking him questions.

He once asked how long Oliver had been cultivating. In response, Oliver chose to lie and say several months.

If he told the truth—that he had only been cultivating for two days and already reached the Third Stage—the man might be too shocked.

Even saying "a few months" already sounded impressive.

"With that wine I gave you, you'll definitely level up again," Rowan said once Oliver was nearly done with the job.

Oliver just nodded, feeling a spark of optimism.

Soon after, he finally finished planting all the arrows.

He estimated it had taken him about three hours.

After that, Rowan Lee, who had been lounging, finally stood up.

He brushed off his clothes to shake off the dust.

"After all this time, I can finally level up again," he said.

Oliver furrowed his brows at that.

Level up again? Was all this just for him to level up?

But how was that possible?

"You thought that was just an egg?" Rowan asked, noticing Oliver's confused expression.

"Wasn't it?" Oliver asked back.

"You think I'd need all this to destroy a mere egg? Hmph!" the man scoffed coldly.

"Back to the tunnel," he added.

He himself walked back into the tunnel.

Oliver didn't dare stay in the underground chamber, knowing it was dangerous.

Once they were back in the tunnel, Rowan Lee extended his hand toward the chamber.

Buzz!

Suddenly, a boundless purple light burst from his hand.

No—it wasn't light. It was lightning—massive amounts of it.

The lightning surged into the underground chamber, filling it in seconds, then got absorbed by the arrows.

After that, every arrow was covered in crackling lightning bolts.

Rumble!

Oliver heard deafening thunder. The entire chamber and tunnel trembled violently.

A single arrow—just one—could probably kill him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Then they launched toward the black egg all at once—so fast Oliver couldn't even see them.

That was exactly why he thought one arrow could kill him.

At his current strength, his techniques were nothing compared to the speed of those arrows.

BANG!

The next thing he saw was the arrows striking the black egg with tremendous force.

Some bounced off, but several pierced through, breaking the egg's outer shell.

At that moment, Oliver finally realized—it wasn't an egg.

It was more like hardened rubber.

The lightning-coated arrows tried to break through it.

ROAR!

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed from inside.

As it started to break apart, a black snake with two heads was revealed inside, its body lined with metallic-looking scales.

Its eyes were shut, but as arrows pierced into it, its body thrashed uncontrollably.

Unfortunately, it was clearly asleep—unable to fight back against the arrows relentlessly tearing through it.

Even its body was soon being torn apart by lightning from the inside.

(Level 38 Boss Monster!)

Oliver suddenly received a notification from his Observation Ring.

"Hahaha, you were fated to die. Who gave you the guts to hibernate out in the open? Too bad your wife was too weak to protect you," Rowan Lee said with a booming laugh.

Hearing that, Oliver finally began to understand everything.

A Boss Monster in hibernation—this was its weakest moment, even though it might still be powerful due to its focus on defense.

As far as he knew, monsters tended to hibernate when they were about to level up.

After hibernation, their level would rise significantly. It was like cultivation, just a different process.

Of course, while they were in hibernation, it was the best time to kill them. If successful, Awakeners still received EXP to level up.

BOOM!

Finally, the black snake's body exploded—shattered to pieces.

Something then leapt out of its body—a massive crystal orb, nearly the size of a truck.

Oliver couldn't help but wonder how something like that fit inside the snake, which wasn't even that large.

Of course, it might have been due to its hibernation—perhaps it had shrunk.

The orb was clearly a Monster Core, but unlike the usual ones, this one had golden lines glowing along its surface.

This alone made it far more valuable—such a core could easily be worth tens of millions of dollars or more.

Oliver didn't blink as he stared at it—but the core was instantly absorbed by Rowan Lee's ring.

"Hahahahahaha, after all this time—I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to grow stronger!" Rowan shouted, still laughing loudly.

"Boy, here's an extra reward from me, since I'm in such a good mood," he added, tossing something to Oliver.