Althea's words were correct. If he attempted another shot with the same power, it would only lead to exhaustion.
The reason h had added the skill point to Archery was to increase his proficiency. As long as he learned to control his strength, he wouldn't tire himself so quickly. At the moment, he wasn't sure what [Awakened] meant, but with the memories he received, it felt as if he had practiced archery nonstop for over a hundred years.
Now, he had six attribute points—three he had gained a few days ago, and another three from leveling up just now.
"System, add one point to strength, two points to agility, and three points to endurance."
Soon, John felt his lungs drawing in large amounts of air. His heart beat faster, and his muscles began to spasm out of control. Similar to Althea, John's body was also adapting to the sudden increase in muscle strength and flexibility. Some of his fat melted away drastically, new muscle fibers formed, and his bone marrow created blood at an exponential rate to keep up with circulation.
After a single breath, John felt newfound strength. He felt like he could punch through walls and run like a cheetah. The only problem was the extreme hunger gnawing at him.
…
"I just need to kill thirty more to level up!"
Seeing his experience bar at 3/100, John felt excited to progress toward Level 3, where he would receive more stat points and another skill point.
Looking ahead, he noticed the humanoid monsters were already close to the walls. Without hesitation, he drew his bow, found a moving target, and loosed an arrow. It struck the monster cleanly in the head, dropping it to the ground.
[+3 Experience]
He smiled and didn't pause this time. He began shooting nonstop, each shot bringing more experience.
[+3 Experience]
[+3 Experience]
[+3 Experience]
[+3 Experience]
[+3 Experience]
…
Within a few breaths, thirteen monsters had fallen to John's arrows. The nearby guard officer noticed his archery and was stunned. A young boy was slaying monsters with every shot he took.
It wasn't unusual for a skilled archer to hit their mark, but most required their targets to remain still. John's archery, however, was far from ordinary. His targets were moving quickly, and even seasoned veterans struggled with such shots. On top of that, griffins flying above stirred the air currents constantly, while magic and siege weapons shook the walls, creating unstable conditions. Yet John's arrows remained precise, piercing through the skulls of his targets with just enough force to kill. His accuracy, combined with his speed, was monstrous.
Even so, the flood of monsters was overwhelming. Different beasts had started climbing as well, and siege towers with battering rams were drawing closer.
By his sixteenth kill, monsters had reached the top of the wall. Siege ladders were being raised. Distraught, John had no choice but to increase his firing speed, targeting those closest to his section of the wall.
[LEVEL UP!]
When John killed his thirty-third monster, the sound he had been waiting for finally came. Without hesitation, he quickly allocated one point each to strength, agility, and endurance. At the moment, he needed a balanced approach, otherwise he risked backlash from focusing too heavily on a single stat.
He also had a free skill point. Though tempted to upgrade Archery to Level 2, he quickly dismissed the idea. Just using Level 1 had already drained much of his energy—Level 2 might kill him outright.
After distributing his points, his speed in drawing arrows increased noticeably, but his hunger grew unbearable. Worse, the supply of arrows had nearly run out—only about a dozen remained, and they needed to be replenished.
He looked to his right, hoping for help, but everyone was too busy holding off the enemy. Nobody wanted to be caught at the mercy of the climbing monsters.
Then John spotted someone—standing cool and unbothered, staring at the battlefield like a general commanding her troops.
John smirked and shouted, "Hey, Althea! What are you doing, sightseeing? Be useful and grab me some arrows!"
Althea was about to berate him, but the officers behind glared at her. Without a choice, she went to the back, gathered arrows for the archers, and returned to John.
With a sweet smile, she stepped close and handed him the bundle. John was about to smile back—when her hand shot forward, striking him in the gut. His body doubled over, nearly toppling off the wall, but her other hand caught his back and kept him steady.
John almost vomited from the blow but forced it down. Then Althea's cheerful voice rang out. "Oh no, you seem tired! That's why you shouldn't work so hard."
John was shaken. Even after leveling up twice and investing heavily in his stats, Althea's light punch had nearly knocked the wind out of him. He thought to himself, "What if I hadn't boosted my stats?"
Naturally, the captain of the guard noticed what happened, but with the battle raging, he ignored the two.
Clutching his stomach, John forced a smile. "Oh right, yes, you're right. I shouldn't work too hard. Overexertion isn't good. Don't worry about me—you can go back to your sightseeing."
Althea nodded with a satisfied smile and returned to her spot, watching the battlefield. John rested a few minutes, then checked his status. 51/1000. He still had a long way to go before leveling up again. With a sigh, he picked up his bow and resumed shooting.
…
Time passed, and John noticed the left side of the wall had been breached. Casualties mounted, and the defenders were struggling to push back the invading monsters. Normally, reinforcements would arrive immediately, but now everyone was tied up, and replacements never came.
John wanted to help the left flank, but dozens of crawlers were already scaling his section of the wall. He had no choice but to prioritize his own area.
Suddenly, a looming siege tower crashed against the wall. Opposing warriors armed with massive axes, hammers, and shields poured out, slaughtering the defenders on the left. Normally, griffin riders would swoop in to destroy these towers, but many had been badly wounded in their fight with the wizard apprentices and were forced to retreat for recovery.
John's chest tightened with anxiety. The only reason he had been able to fire comfortably until now was because he wasn't personally under threat. Even with his newfound strength, if surrounded by five enemies, he would surely die. High perception wouldn't save him from an arrow in the back.
The defenders on the left wing were wiped out. Leading the charge was a bulky, red-haired man with a scar across his face, grinning wickedly as he turned toward John's side of the wall.
"THEY'RE COMING!"
The officer's shout rang out as he raised his sword and shield to meet the enemy.
"Shit," John muttered under his breath, panic rising. He had no choice but to focus on this new threat.
Then, a calm, excited voice cut through the chaos.
"Let me handle this."
Everyone turned to see a young girl, sword in hand, smiling as though she had been waiting for this moment.
Althea.