The Outcast: You Use Swords? Right, I Use Arrows

Pain. It felt as if every bone in his body had been shattered.

Lin Xiao opened his eyes to the stark white ceiling of a hospital, old-fashioned and clearly not from the twenty-first century. Unfamiliar memories came flooding in: an orphan whose parents had died young, a smattering of swordsmanship passed down through his family, the body of a seventeen-year-old boy also named Lin Xiao, and an absurd world called The Outcast.

[Ding! The Host’s consciousness has awakened. Cross-Realm Archery Supreme System activated!]

[Binding successful! Since close combat is extremely dangerous in this world and the Host is exceptionally handsome, an “Unparalleled Medical Skills: Beginner’s Guide” gift pack has been added!]

[Newbie quest issued: Reach the bamboo grove west of the city within one hour. Reward: Basic archery skills.]

…

In the bamboo grove west of the city, the evening breeze carried the scent of blood.

Lin Xiao gripped the compound bow and quiver of arrows he had just bought with all his savings, his fingers cold. He saw two formidable men in suits, Xu San and Xu Si, protecting an old man whose abdomen was stained with blood as they faced off against several hideous-looking Outsiders. The situation was perilous.

The old man was barely breathing, and black qi swirled around his wound.

“Impossible. Without stopping the bleeding, even a god couldn’t save him,” the System assessed coldly.

Lin Xiao took a deep breath and drew an arrow from his quiver. A strip of cotton soaked in medicine was tied to its tip. He recalled the sections of The Spiritual Pivot: The Spirit and the basic archery skills the System had instilled in him.

The bow bent like a full moon.

The arrow flew without a sound, leaving a barely perceptible green trail as it skimmed across the battlefield and struck the tree trunk beside the old man with pinpoint accuracy. The medicine capsule shattered, releasing a cloud of special anesthetic smoke.

“Who’s there?”